Lecture notes
Class notes Perspectives on Politics- The Classical Conception of Freedom
- Module
- Perspectives on Politics
- Institution
- Queens University Belfast (QUB)
Notes on liberal theory in politics and critical views of freedom
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Perspectives on Politics- Section B: Individual & Society 23/10/18The Classical Liberal View of Freedom
o Freedom: vast variety of everyday meanings- ie. Available
o Political is more specific
o That you are not enslaved
Traditional meaning given legacy of slavery in a variety of cultures
o That you are not under the power of another (negative)
o That you as an individual have the ability to lead a self-determined and
fulfilling life (positive)
o That you as a member of a group have the right/ability to determine the
collective destiny of that group (family, nation) (positive)
Negative and Positive Freedom- Isaiah Berlin
o Both concepts have a shared essence: “Essence of the notion of liberty, both in the
positive and negative senses, is the holding off of something or someone”
o However, both have very different meanings/implications
o Hobbes and Negative Liberty- Leviathan- “Liberty, or Freedome, signifieth
(properly) the absence of Opposition; by Opposition, I mean externall
Impediments of motion”
o Rousseau and Positive Liberty- The Social Contract- the free person is “truly
master of himself”
o Negative- non-interference/freedom-from:
o No external restrictions; concerns area of uncoerced movement
o External restrictions= obstacles imposed by human rights: legal sactions,
coercion, physical violence
o Concerns opportunity of movement & action- ie. Does not mean I can achieve
my desires, but that no one interferes in them
o Individual is sole authority
o Positive- self-mastery/freedom to:
o Free when we fully realise our goals and develop our true selves
o Obstacles can be
External or internal, ie. Weak will
Imposed by human beings and by “fate” (money etc…) (Taylor)
o Concerns the ability to move, act, be something. Note: you can be negatively
free and yet not positively free
o Individuals are not the sole authority on their desires- they can be
misinformed (Taylor)- associated with the idea of rational conduct, of
thinking about your choices/preferences
Berlin’s Critique of Positive Freedom:
o There is a polity which endorses a notion of positive freedom as a political ideal can
become tyrannical
o Often conflicts with negative freedom- eg. Compulsory education limits
childrens’/parents’ freedom of choice
o Relies on contestable notions of the good or fulfilled life (potential paternalism)
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