Political Science 1020E Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Classical Republicanism, Positive Liberty, Negative Liberty
9 Jul 2016
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Berlin distinguished negative liberty from positive liberty: negative liberty is "freedom from", positive liberty is "freedom to" Positively free when free to do certain things. Negatively free when free from certain things: problem: any freedom is both a freedom from and a freedom to. Ex: freedom of speech- freedom from interference of the state and other people from saying what you want to say. However, it is also a freedom to say what i want, whether is racist or brutish, etc. o. There is only one concept of liberty (or freedom): o. "x is free from y to do (or become) z: any freedom claims take this form, x is an agent, y is an obstacle or constraint, and z is a goal or end. Who is the agent: the observable self, the rational or higher self, or a collective self like a class or nation, ex: reason, appetite, emotions could be the class, proletarians, the middle class, etc.
