Difference between revisions of "What Is Liberty?"
From Critiques Of Libertarianism
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== Confusion of Liberties with Rights == | == Confusion of Liberties with Rights == | ||
| − | [[What Are Rights?|Rights are liberties that are coercively defended]]: others are forced not to interfere. If you have a right to cross a | + | [[What Are Rights?|Rights are liberties that are coercively defended]]: others are forced not to interfere. If you have a right to cross a bridge, your liberty is defended by law. But the important thing is that rights are created by enforcing duties on others, destroying THEIR liberties. You may want liberty to cross a bridge, and get a right to cross the bridge; but that means everybody else loses their liberty to interfere with your crossing. They have a duty to not interfere. |
== A Positive Model Of Liberty == | == A Positive Model Of Liberty == | ||
A good model of a liberty should be consistent with observations from law, economics, and anthropology. If it is based on observation, we can call it a positive model, like other models in the sciences. (But not necessarily philosophy.) | A good model of a liberty should be consistent with observations from law, economics, and anthropology. If it is based on observation, we can call it a positive model, like other models in the sciences. (But not necessarily philosophy.) | ||
| − | A person (P) is free to do or be a thing (T), | + | A person (P) is free to do or be a thing (T), to achieve a goal (G), using an ability (A), with a resource (R), when all others (O) do not interfere, despite opportunity costs (C), because of reason (B). |
| + | This is not as complex a model as it could be, but suffices to capture most of of the ideas of liberty. For example: | ||
| + | |||
| + | Pete is free to Trampoline, to achieve a Goal of exercise, using his Ability to jump, with a trampoline as his resource, when the Owners do not interfere, despite the opportunity Cost that they could use it themselves, Because Pete can bribe them with a rental fee. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Let's look at parts of this answer more closely. | ||
| + | * To achieve a goal means to benefit in some way, to satisfy a value, our motivation: it's the reason Pete might want to do this. Freedoms we don't value are meaningless to us. | ||
| + | * Both Abilities (internal to our bodies) and Resources (external) are essential to almost every liberty: without them you cannot do or be a thing. | ||
| + | * Everything you do or be has opportunity costs to others. They might be small, but they are still there. For example, others might be better off if you do not trampoline because they could instead. | ||
| + | * There might be many different opportunity costs for others, and many different reasons why they refrain from interfering. For example, the trampoline owners don't interfere because they were bribed, while others don't interfere because of the government coercion of the property system (they could be taken to court.) | ||
== Examples That Could Be Explained By This Model == | == Examples That Could Be Explained By This Model == | ||
== Positive and Negative Liberty == | == Positive and Negative Liberty == | ||
