Liberty & Freedom
- Rick Bonetti
- Jul 4
- 2 min read
The Statue of Liberty (formally Liberty Enlightening the World) was a gift to the United States from the people of France, dedicated 140 years ago in 1886. She holds a torch in her right hand, and in her left hand carries a tabula ansata inscribed July 4, 1776, the date of the U.S. Declaration of Independence of the United States, 250 years ago. With her left foot, she steps on a broken chain and shackle, commemorating the national abolition of slavery following the American Civil War. The statue has become an icon of freedom and of the United States, seen as a symbol of welcome to immigrants.
Liberty and freedom are foundational concepts in philosophy, politics, and human rights. While they are often used interchangeably, they carry distinct nuances:
Liberty
Liberty refers to the freedom to act without undue restriction or coercion, often within the bounds of laws designed to protect individual rights and societal well-being. It emphasizes autonomy and the ability to make choices free from oppression.
Positive Liberty: The freedom to do something, such as pursue opportunities, express oneself, or achieve personal goals.
Negative Liberty: The freedom from interference, coercion, or restraint by others (including governments).
Liberty is often framed as a right that requires protection, such as freedom of speech, religion, or movement.
Freedom
Freedom is a broader concept that encompasses liberty but also includes emancipation from constraints—whether physical, social, economic, or psychological. It can refer to:
Personal freedom: The right to live according to one’s values and make independent decisions.
Political freedom: The absence of tyranny or oppression, often tied to democracy and human rights.
Social freedom: The ability to participate in society without discrimination or marginalization.
Freedom often implies responsibility—the idea that true freedom requires respecting the freedoms of others.
Liberalism
In The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century, Helena Rosenblatt writes:
"By the eve of the French Revolution, and before the invention of 'liberalism,' there existed in Europe a centuries-old tradition of exhorting men to be liberal. A term [liberalism] originally used to designate the ideal qualities of a Roman citizen, his love of freedom, generosity, and civic-mindedness, had been Christianized, democratized, and politicized, such that by the eighteenth century it could be used to describe the American Constitution. A liberal constitution, it was said, required liberal citizens—in other words, men who were freedom-loving, generous, and civic-minded, and who understood their connectedness to others and their duties to the common good. To learn such values requires a liberal arts education. Some also believed that it required a liberal form of Christianity, tolerant, reasonable, and open to free inquiry and science."
Today, critics accuse liberalism of a long list of sins. They say that it destroys religion, the family, and the community. It’s morally lax and hedonistic, if not racist, sexist, and imperialist. Defenders [of liberalism] are just as emphatic. They say that liberalism is responsible for all that is best about us—our ideas of fairness, social justice, freedom, and equality.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" ~ U. S. Declaration of Independence
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