The Concepts of Freedom discussed by MacKinnon, Taylor and Berlin (Research Paper Sample)

The Concepts of Freedom discussed by MacKinnon, Taylor and Berlin
The Concepts of Freedom discussed by MacKinnon, Taylor and Berlin
Positive Liberty vs. Negative Liberty
Isiah Berlin postulated two concepts of liberty: Positive and negative liberty. Negative liberty concerns how one would act in the absence of interference from others or limitations of the law. Positive liberty involves the actor being the source of control for their action. Negative liberty is temporal because it is dependent upon the existence or absence of external coercion. Positive liberty is permanent or more sustainable because it is not predicated upon external interference or coercive power. Positive liberty derives from one’s ability to select an optimally beneficial course of action from a range of choices. Coercion does not infer one’s inability to act, rather it manifests normative limitation upon one’s ability to act. The proponents of negative liberty contend liberty cannot be exercised without limits, noting that one’s actions would always interfere with the actions of others and that personal freedom must be curtailed to the extent to which it interferes with the freedoms or goas of others. Therefore, negative liberty if perceived as a model of political freedom must be subject to certain limits and sanctions.