Negative liberty

Barack Obama’s Farewell Speech can be examined through the different theoretical lenses of liberalism and Ubuntu. Liberalism is often called “idealism” and describes how the world ought to be while pushing it in that direction(Zook 2017) Ubuntu theory is that “a person is who s/he is only because of the existence of others and because of his/her coexistence with them”(van der Walt, 108). Both theories have rather different origins, but liberalism and Ubuntu can be brought together to look at the…

hateful and Islamophobic content that, (from the complainant’s point of view) allowed for no opportunity to be countered. There are parallels between John Stuart Mill’s work On liberty and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms enacted by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau on what boundaries to place on such a precious liberty. Both generally conclude that a person’s freedoms must not be infringed upon unless they harm others in society. Does the publishing a critical opinion of one’s religion…

The harm principle, as espoused by John Stuart Mill in his 1859 text On Liberty, is perhaps one of the most important components of liberal political theory. He argues that ‘the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection.’ Certainly, the harm principle lies right at the heart of liberal individualism . This essay will analyse Mill’s conception of the harm principle and consider its…

In the Second Discourse on Inequality, Jean Jacque Rousseau outlined the origin and development of private property. The formation of the hut is the first step towards the ultimate creation of society as families and communities start to form. Unlike savage man who’s primary motivation was self-preservation, civilized man embraced amour propre as they begin to compare their strengths and abilities of others. Although Rousseau argues that the invention of private property is not natural, it is…

Radical Revolution Vs. Gradual Change When we hear the terms “liberal” and “conservative” in the media today, we often associate “liberals” skewed to the left on the political spectrum, and “conservatives” skewed right. For the longest time, the term “liberal” outlines a society that is free with a democratic extent. Classical liberalism is based upon Locke’s philosophy of individual rights. Locke’s philosophy entails that a government exists to protect the natural and unalienable…

relationship between power and liberty according to Arendt? According to Hannah Arendt, power is generated from the ability that people act collectively to influence and persuade others in social affairs. Liberty means liberty, when it is far away from oppression, bondage, poverty, biological necessity, and tyranny, overall from violence. Power and liberty are interrelated terms and this interrelation comes from the very beginning. Formerly, the regain of ancient liberties was followed by the…

disapprove of. It is precisely in these situations where we must stand firm in support of the non-aggression principle. One of the main issues I see with libertarianism being too “thin” is that thin libertarians see any justification of liberty as acceptable; it’s as if liberty is a contingent matter for them. If we use the example of racial discrimination or bigotry, libertarians who are accepting of these issues, are ultimately setting back all of the ideals associated with…

First off, the first source is a quote expressing the author's opinion of the responsibility of the socio-economically elite to serve society and the common good. This source favours modern liberalism,as it is in favour of helping the less fortunate and caring for the common good of society as a whole . This closely coincides with the views of president Hoover, who frequently expressed his opinion on the importance of the well being of a society over self interest and the personal benefit of an…

of calls for more individual liberties in the Constitution. The right to property is one of the most basic, rights that belongs to all humans. As an unalienable right, the right to property is a right that should be entitled at birth and therefore, is a basic freedom. As John Locke, an Enlightenment thinker who heavily influenced the Founding Fathers, once said: “All mankind... being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions.“ John…

I believe freedom to be an absolutely relative condition, and an artistic notion. The artistic or philosophical nature of the idea makes it very difficult to grasp, and very difficult to create. It is more difficult still to structure a society around the concept of freedom. There are many different views of the concept of freedom. I believe this to be a virtue of the idea. Freedom is an individual notion, so to an extent we create our own freedom. However, since it is so independent, it can…