Understanding Freedom (1)

Understanding freedom/liberty (What is Liberty?  What is Freedom?)

I’ve been reading a fascinating book written by F.A. Hayek called “The Constitution of Liberty”.  If you get the chance I recommend picking a copy up, he’s the same person who wrote “The Road to Serfdom”, and if you haven’t read that book yet it’s an absolutely brilliant contrast of Individualism & Collectivism, definitely worth taking the time to read.

In “The Constitution of Liberty”, Hayek begins with defining freedom in its original and most basic form.  The following are quotes from his book, that stood out to me and I would ask you to consider: 

What is Freedom?

“[A state of Freedom or Liberty is a] condition of men in which coercion of some by others is reduced as much as is possible in society… [it] refers solely to a relation of men to other men , and the only infringement on it is coercion by men”.  Similarly, he defines Individual or Personal Freedom the same, the only difference is that he applies the definition specifically to the individual:  “The state in which a man is not subject to coercion by the arbitrary will of another or others”.

What makes this meaning important?

“[It] is a distinct meaning and… it describes one thing and one thing only, a state which is desirable for reasons different from those which makes us desire other things also called ‘freedom’.”

What is the task for a policy of freedom?

“[Because Freedom or Liberty describes] a state which man living among his fellows may hope to approach closely but can hardly expect to realize perfectly… the task of a policy of freedom must [be] to minimize coercion or it’s harmful effects, even if it cannot eliminate it completely.”

Obviously to understand “Freedom/Liberty” you must understand what “Coercion” means.

Coercion

“[S]uch control of the environment or circumstances of a person by another that, in order to avoid a greater evil, he is forced to act not according to a coherent plan of his own but to serve the ends of another…[and] he is unable either to use his own intelligence or knowledge to follow his own aims and beliefs [other than in the sense of choosing the lesser evil in a situation forced on his by another].”

Hayek also addresses the frivolous arguments you can be certain to expect, for instance obviously “[you can] only prevent coercion [with some] threat of coercion.”  Here Hayek explains that the people confer a “monopoly of coercion” to the State, but it is “limited to instances where it is required to prevent coercion by private persons… [and] Reduced to a minimum and made as innocuous as possible by restricting it through known general rules.”  In simpler terms (though not all inclusive and for illustration purposes only) – this basically means in order to protect individuals from coercion by other individuals or groups of individuals, power is granted to the state to make laws which threaten coercion on those who break them (I.E. “known rules… generally the result of circumstances in which the person to be coerced has placed himself.”

One more point on Coercion from Hayek’s “The Constitution of Liberty”, in understanding the term coercion for the purposes of defining Freedom/Liberty it’s important to understand that “[Coercion] becomes an instrument assisting the individuals in pursuit of their own ends and not a means to be used for the ends of others.”

Liberty as a Negative Concept:

Hayek walks the reader through the logic of this idea and once the reader is able to grasp it, he will be amazed at how easy it is to distort the entire idea and concept of freedom with mere words.  Obviously this is important because we want to be able to stop people when they do this and explain to them “why” they are wrong or at least not talking about “freedom or liberty” even though they may think they are.

For example, from the book, “that one should be allowed to do specific things is not liberty, though it may be called ‘a liberty’; and while liberty is compatible with not being allowed to do specific things, it does not exist if one needs permission for most of what one can do.”   Amazing, clear, and concise.

It’s important to understand & not confuse the statement above.

Everything I’ve talked about so far is from the first chapter alone!  I highly recommend you go to the library, find this book, study it, work through the logic yourself, and then teach it to others. 

One more important note that stood out to me was Hayek’s “5 Elements Required to Protect an Individual Against Coercion”.  I took the liberty of adding a 6^th.  (I am adding number 6 because I feel it is important for protection against coercion and when you get the book you’ll also note that Hayek admits in the introduction that he writes the book from the European point of view – I am more than happy to make a solid case for number 6 in another post)

6 Elements Required to Protect an Individual Against Coercion

1. “Legal status as a protected member of the community”

2. “Immunity from arbitrary arrest”

3. “The right to work at whatever he desires to do”

4. “The right to movement according to his own choice”

5.  “The right to own property”

6.  The right to bear arms.

Today I posted the first (of many blog posts to come) in the “Radicals, Communists, and Marxist Revolutionaries” series. 

Obviously we all know (or at least we think we know) what it means to be free, but too often we cannot articulate it into a solid description (or perhaps into an argument), because its not something we expect to be manipulated, we feel it’s common sense, we know it when we see it… but in order to defend freedom, it’s important we understand how to articulate it and when it is being distorted.  This post is to be the first in a collection of blog posts on the concept of “Freedom/Liberty”, I hope to post more information like this that I hope can help others to understand the concept of “Liberty”, to be able to explain it, and to in turn help others to understand (which in turn will help you to understand it even more clearly).

Finally, because I feel it’s important that we know where we came from and how we were founded, I plan to begin a 3^rd series of blog posts on Founding Principles – based on the 28 Founding Principles of Freedom from “The 5000 Year Leap”.

Sometimes it’s nice to not have to read from the computer screen, so when possible (time wise…) I’ll create video presentations in lieu of an article.

This is Jason Bradley, thanks for reading!

© 2009 ExcellenceInAmerica.com

Work Cited:

F.A. Hayek.  “The Constitution of Liberty”.  Chapter 1 “Liberty & Liberties”.  University of Chicago Press.  1960.