KINDS OF LIBERTY

Dr Jiwan Devi

Assistant Professor in Political Science

HRMMV Jalandhar

INTRODUCTION

• Liberty is such a concept which attracts the attention of everybody because human life is not possible without it and nor the man can make any progress in his life. The idea of liberty has been the most powerful weapon in the hands of the unarmed and it has defeated the strong armies of dictators and imperialists and has opened the path of freedom and progress. This is age of democracy and in t man has got different kinds of liberty.

MEANING OF LIBERTY

• The word liberty has been derived from latin word ‘Liber’ which means the absence of restraints. A common man thinks that liberty means no restraints. But this is not the correct meaning of liberty. Liberty is actually a congenial atmosphere, which is essential for the overall growth of a man. Liberty is limited by the social principles and laws of the state.

DEFINITIONS:-

• 1. According to G. D. H. Cole, ”Liberty is the freedom of the individual to express without external hindrances to his personality.”
• 2. According to C. D. Burns, “Liberty is to grow to one’s natural height and to develop one’s ability.”

CHARACTERISTICS OF LIBERTY:-

• 1. Liberty can be enjoyed in the state:- The laws of state prepare proper environment for the enjoyment of liberty and save the individual from unwanted interference in his life. The existence of liberty without the state or outside the state is just a myth. State ensures and protects liberty.
• 2. Liberty is not the absence of restraints:- Liberty does not mean the absence of restraints but to create such an atmosphere which promotes human and social interests. So, social and state interests are hindrance in the way of human liberty. Man cannot be given the right to do whatever he likes which goes against interests of state and society.

3. Liberty is never absolute:- People belonging to different religions, speaking different languages and having different cultures and tradition etc. live in the state and the protection of liberty of all is the responsibility of the state. And for the protection of liberty of others one has to observe certain limitations.

4. Liberty is universal:- Liberty is universal and it means that while granting liberty no discrimination is made on the basis of caste, creed, religion and color etc. whether one is rich or poor, educated or uneducated, residing in village or city, is given equal liberty.

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• 5. Law and liberty are not opposite to each other:- This is wrong to say that law and liberty are opposite each other. Actually law protects the liberty of citizens and creates such an atmosphere which helps in enjoying liberty. But all the laws do not protect liberty as some of the laws are made to cutail individual liberty.

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• 6. Liberty is an environment:- Liberty is not a material thing which an individual can eat or wear. Liberty is the creation of an environment which facilitates the proper development of an individual. The laws of state, police, courts etc. create an environment for the enjoyment of freedom.
• 7. Absence of special privileges:- Special privileges and rights are opposite to one another. Therefore, in which society the people are given

Special privileges on the basis of their race, religion, color, birth, social or economic conditions, there will be absence of liberty.

8. Rights are essential conditions of liberty:-

Rights are essential conditions for the enjoyment of liberty because everybody enjoys liberty in the form of rights. In the absence of rights we cannot enjoy liberty in real sense. Rights and liberty are two sides of a same coin.

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KINDS OF LIBERTY:-

• 1. Natural liberty:- Contractualists have propagated the idea of natural liberty. They are of the opinion that man is free, therefore, he should be given absolute freedom. Contractualists like Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau think that man has actual freedom only in the state of nature, but with the origin of the state man has lost his natural freedom. But in civilized society no such liberty can be given.

• 2. Civil liberty:- The liberties which man gets being in the member of society is termed as civil liberties. This concept of liberty is against the concept of natural liberty. This concept does not give absolute rights according to one’s wishes but this liberty can be enjoyed within the restrictions imposed by the state and the society. Civil liberty includes personal liberty, religious liberty etc.

• 3. Political liberty:- Political liberty means active participation in the administration of the state. Political liberty is that constitutional liberty in which the people have the right to elect their own government. Right to vote, Right to contest elections, Right to hold government public offices to one’s qualifications, Right to criticize the policies of government etc. are included in the political liberty.

• 4. Economic liberty:- Economic liberty is the base of all the other liberties because in the absence of this liberty man cannot enjoy other liberties. Economic liberty means security from poverty, unemployment etc. This liberty frees the man from the exploitation of the master and gives him proper chance to earn his livelihood. Right to work, Right to reasonable wages, Right to form unions, Right to rest and leisure etc. are included in this liberty.

• 5. National liberty:- National liberty is the opposite of colonialism and imperialism. According to this, a state has right to self determinations and self-government. According to national liberty every nation has the right to establish a sovereign state and can be free from any external or internal control. No state can use force upon other nations. But this does not mean national liberty is absolute.

• 6. Religious liberty:- Religion has got a great impact on the human being. Nobody can tolerate any type of interference in his religious matters. This is the reason why many states give the religious liberty to its citizens. Secular state provides liberty to adopt any religion and keeps herself neutral from state affairs. But one point should be noted that religious liberty can be enjoyed only on restraints.

• 7. Moral liberty:- T. H. Green, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel and Bonsanquet are in the favor of moral liberty. Moral liberty creates such conditions which enable an individual to become a rational being as a result of which he becomes able to distinguish between right and wrong, moral and immoral etc. The individual should be morally free and state should create such conditions to ensure moral liberty. Moral liberty is concerned with the inner consciousness of the individual.

• 8. Individual liberty:- Individual liberty means that man has liberty to do anything which does not affect others. But while living in society one has to enjoy his personal liberty and look into the interests of others at the same time and he cannot be given such liberty which restricts the freedom of others. So there is a close relationship between individual liberty and social liberty and personal liberty can be enjoyed in only the limitations fixed by the society.

CONCLUSION

• After going through the above discussion it can be concluded that every kind of liberty has its own importance and in the absence of any one of them, an individual cannot enjoy his freedom properly.
• Therefore each individual should enjoy economic , social, political, civil and moral liberty in equal proportion and to enjoy all these liberties national liberty is essential.
• But all these liberties can e enjoyed within restrictions.

THANK YOU….