Liberty is fundamental to liberalism’s foundation as well as a major part of the United Sates’ ideology. In The Declaration of Independence of the United States, Liberty is mentioned abundantly; it is a belief that the United States is deeply tied to. However, individual liberty is often at odds with other favorable ideologies: equality, for example. The United States values both individual liberty and equality, though the two do not function well cohesively. A society that fosters individual liberty cannot ensure equality. Authors including Thomas Jefferson, John Locke, and Adam Smith discuss various elements of individual liberty and many of their presented principles are problematic. While liberty is a respectable and well-developed
…show more content…
Firstly, he claims that men are entitled to both liberty and equality, but one cannot have total liberty and still maintain equality, because if one is entirely free they have the ability to surpass or fall behind another or, alternately, to oppress another. Secondly, he seems to value equality superficially. He states that “all men are created equal” (Jefferson 1), but he does not suggest that men remain equal. The fact that the only other time Jefferson speaks on equality, albeit abstractly, is in a paragraph that is omitted implies that equality was not enough of a priority for him. He seems to have included the mention of equality simply because it sounded good and he avoided any mention of it in a controversial context. Though liberty and equality are paired in The Declaration of Independence, Jefferson does not seem to suggest that the two actually function well …show more content…
They require unanimous, ardent participation of all people involved and, because of this, they fall quickly into chaos. Because this state of nature is so hard to maintain, government must be employed. When government is employed, perfect equality and freedom can no longer be achieved. Additionally, not all of his laws work well together. Locke claims that men live in a state of perfect freedom and, simultaneously, that they are all equal. However, perfect freedom and equality do not mesh well; if a man were totally free, he would have the ability to rise above or below the rank of another, making things unequal. Instead, after claiming that men exist in perfect freedom, Locke applies limitations to this freedom stating that men have “perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of Nature” (Locke 6). By applying these limitations, it is no longer a perfect freedom. The individual liberty that Locke presents is fragile and heavily restricted to allow equality to
Firstly, he claims that men are entitled to both liberty and equality, but one cannot have total liberty and still maintain equality, because if one is entirely free they have the ability to surpass or fall behind another or, alternately, to oppress another. Secondly, he seems to value equality superficially. He states that “all men are created equal” (Jefferson 1), but he does not suggest that men remain equal. The fact that the only other time Jefferson speaks on equality, albeit abstractly, is in a paragraph that is omitted implies that equality was not enough of a priority for him. He seems to have included the mention of equality simply because it sounded good and he avoided any mention of it in a controversial context. Though liberty and equality are paired in The Declaration of Independence, Jefferson does not seem to suggest that the two actually function well …show more content…
They require unanimous, ardent participation of all people involved and, because of this, they fall quickly into chaos. Because this state of nature is so hard to maintain, government must be employed. When government is employed, perfect equality and freedom can no longer be achieved. Additionally, not all of his laws work well together. Locke claims that men live in a state of perfect freedom and, simultaneously, that they are all equal. However, perfect freedom and equality do not mesh well; if a man were totally free, he would have the ability to rise above or below the rank of another, making things unequal. Instead, after claiming that men exist in perfect freedom, Locke applies limitations to this freedom stating that men have “perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of Nature” (Locke 6). By applying these limitations, it is no longer a perfect freedom. The individual liberty that Locke presents is fragile and heavily restricted to allow equality to