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CLASS NOTES, , , , Class: XI, , , , Subject: POLITICAL SCIENCE, , , , Topic: CHAPTER-2- LIBERTY, SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER- NOT FOR WRITING, , , , , , CH-2: LIBERTY (THE TITLE OF THE CHAPTER IS CHANGED FROM FREEDOM TO, , , , LIBERTY, , , , « Freedom is a liberty to do whatever a person likes to do or a positive, power of doing and enjoying the worth of work., , « Freedom has the two aspects, i.e. positive and negative., , « Positive freedom refers to those rights which do not reach any harm to, others if enjoyed as well essential for an individual’s development., , « Negative freedom implies the absence of any restraints on freedom., , « Freedom can be classified as natural freedom, civil freedom, political, freedom, economic freedom, religious freedom, individual freedom, etc., , « Various safeguards have been provided for freedom, i.e. democratic, setup, equal rights for all, economic security constitutional provisions,, , etc., , « Freedom of expression require non-interference or should not be, restricted because it is a fundamental value to be possessed by the, , people., , « Though, a number of times, the demands have been raised to ban, , books, films, articles, journals, etc., , e Banning is an easy solution for the short term to meet the immediate, demand but it is very harmful for long term prospects of freedom in a, , society., , « Because once one begins to ban, then one develops a habit of banning., Constraints of different kinds thus exist and we are subject to them in, , different situations.
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NEW CONTENT FROM CBSE:, , Liberty vs Freedom’, , We hear a lot around us that people appear to use the word liberty and, freedom as synonyms of each other. But there are some fundamental, differences between these two concepts that must be understood., , Liberty comes from the Latin word “libertatem” which means “condition of a, freeman”. While freedom come from the English word “freodom” which, means “state of free will”., , Liberty is power to act and express oneself according to one’s will while, freedom is the power to decide one’s action., , Freedom is more concrete concept than liberty which is more associated with, an individual’s connection with the state rather than with other individuals and, circumstances., , State guarantees freedom through the liberty it grants to its citizens., , The difference between these two concepts can briefly be outlined as follows:, , Liberty Freedom, Condition of free man State of free will, Power to act Power to decide, Free to do something Free from something, , The common feature between these two concepts is that both remain, unconstrained, which means that their realization is free from any constrain., Further, both follow rightful or ethical conformity in terms of their realization., , What is Freedom?, , + Definition says “ An individual could be considered free if he/she, is not subject to external control or coercion and is able to make, , independent decisions and act in an autonomous way ”, , - But Absence of constraint is one dimension, , - Freedom is about expanding the ability of the people to, freely express themselves and develop their potential., , i-e., Creativity and capabilities are developed
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The Ideals of Freedom, , Wa, , Struggle against unjust constraints, imposed in the form of Apartheid, regime and for fighting for the, Freedom of the people of South, Africa, , She considered Freedom as, something when one lives, without any fear and that is when, a human can lead a dignified life, , , , Sources of Constraints, , Freedom is restricted either by Domination or External controls,, such restrictions may be imposed through force or by law, , Therefore, some form of a Government is required, if it is a, democratic form of a Government then, the members of a State, can retain some control over their rulers. Democratic, government is considered to be an important means of protecting, the Freedom of the people, , Constraints can also occur due to social and economic inequality, which is existing in the society, , , , , , A free society is which enables all its members to develop their, potential with “minimum of social constraints”, , But an individual cannot expect that there should be no, restriction, hence it becomes important for us to understand, “Which constraints are acceptable andWhich are not”, , ‘Harm Principle, John Stuart Mill’s concept in his Essay “On Liberty”, , Consequences only for, the individual, , * State has no business, , to interfere, , * Consequences for, Other RegardingAction 2 others, * State can interfere, , , , , , , , , Sat ete ay esa
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Why do we need constraints?, , - Without constraints, the society will descend into chaos, because of limited scarce resources, confliction ambitions,, differences of opinion which will lead to open conflict., , , , a, , epee ic, , , , - But even in this case, we need to identify which constraints, are justifiable and which ones are not or should any area in, our life be left free of external constraints?, , He says only in special cases Freedom can be constrained, because Freedom is crucial for leading a dignified human life, , Special cases as in:, - Harm caused must be serious, , - For minor harm Mill recommends only social disapproval, , People should tolerate different ways of life, different points of view, and different interest as long as they are not causing harm to others,, in order to maintain the spirit of protecting Freedom, , But such tolerance need not be extended to, views and actions which may put people in danger or foment, hatred against them., , In the constitutional discussions in India, the term used for, such justifiable constraints is ‘reasonable restrictions’,, , The restrictions may be there but they must be reasonable,, ie., capable of being defended by reason, not excessive, not out of, proportion to the action being restricted, since it will have a, negative effect on the general condition of freedom in, society., , Negative and Positive Liberty, , Earlier we studied about 2 dimensions of Freedom :, a) Freedom as absence of external constraints., b) Freedom as expansion of opportunity for oneself., , In political theory these are called as Positive and, Negative Liberty”.
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Positive Liberty, , It is concerned with explaining the idea of “freedom to”, , It is concerned with the relationship between individual and the, society, , Focuses on improving the conditions such that there are, fewer constraints for the development of an individual i.e.,, the person must not be constrained by poverty or unemployment,, they must have adequate material resources to pursue their, wants and needs, , Should give opportunity to participate in decision making, process, , Negative Liberty, , ° Negative Liberty — Defines the personal area of an, , individual, , « There is no external authority., , , , - i inim ar hat i: re it i: in: rs, with., , © It basically asks us “Over what ar i th a: a, , Example : VWvearing a school uniform should be a choice of, , an individual or should it be decided by external, authority?, , Freedom of Expression(FoE), , ¢ Freedom of Expression is a fundamental value and a society must, , be willing to bear some inconvenience in order to protect it from, the people who wants to restrict it, , e Itis one of the issues which belong to minimum area of non, interference(Negative Liberty)., , ° Ex: Banning of books, movies, plays, academic articles etc., , e But we need to understand is the restriction on FoE is, , justifiable or not?, When constraints are backed by social-religious or cultural, authority o. acked e state, they will restrict our freedom, in ways that are difficult to fight against, , But, If we willingly accept certain restrictions for the sake of, pursuing our goals, then our freedom is not limited, , J.S.Mill set out 4 good reasons as to why Freedom of, Expression should not be restricted., , , , , , [.S. Mill view, , In his book On Liberty, he offers 4 reasons as to why there, should be Freedom of Expression even for those who, believe ideas that appear ‘false’ or misleading today., , I. No idea is completely false., , 2. Truth does not emerge by itself., , 3. This conflict of ideas is valuable not just in the past but is, of continuing value for all times., , 4. We cannot be sure that what we consider true is actually, true.
