Negative and Positive Liberty| Class 11 Polity Notes

Freedom can be seen in two different ways. One way is positive freedom, where people can make choices in society. It is about when individuals have the power to make decisions. But negative freedom is different. It is about being independent from others who might influence the people. Negative freedom means people can do things without interference from outside. It is the opposite of the positive freedom. Liberty means getting rid of unfair rules so everyone can have their basic rights. Freedom means having lots of choices. So, in simple words, liberty means enjoying your freedom without taking away others’ rights.

In this article, we will discuss the Negative and Positive Liberty in detail.

Negative and Positive Liberty| Class 11 Polity Notes

What Is Liberty?

Liberty means having the freedom to do what you want or being able to appreciate the value of your own work. In today’s politics, liberty is seen as being free in society without being controlled or restricted by authority in how you live, behave, or express your political views.

Negative Liberty

• Negative liberty is the smallest area where nobody messes with you. It is about protecting your space.
• It is about explaining what “freedom” means.
• It says people need room to do their own thing because it is important for who they are.
• To be yourself, you need to be left alone sometimes, where nobody steps on your rights.
• Unlike positive freedom, negative freedom is mostly about not being controlled by others.

Positive Liberty

• Positive liberty means having the ability to freely act according to one’s own will, unlike negative liberty, which is about being free from outside control.
• It also involves being free from inner limitations.
• Positive liberty focuses on the idea of “freedom to.”
• Thinkers like Rousseau, Hegel, Marx, Gandhi, and Aurobindo have talked a lot about positive liberty.
• It looks at the relationship and conditions between individuals and society.
• Positive liberty aims to improve these conditions to make it easier for individuals to develop their personality.
• Creating favorable conditions in material, political, and social areas is important for an individual’s growth.

Difference Between Negative and Positive Liberty

Here are the Difference Between Negative and Positive Liberty as mentioned below.

Aspect	Negative Liberty	Positive Liberty
Definition	Freedom from external restraints	Ability to act freely according to one’s will
Internal Freedom	Not highlighted	Emphasizes freedom from inner limitations
Focus	Freedom from interference	Emphasizes “freedom to”
Philosophers	John Locke, Isaiah Berlin	Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Karl Marx
Relationship	Individual vs. external restrictions	Individual vs. societal conditions
Development	Views constraints as necessary limits	Seeks to reduce obstacles to development
Conditions	Does not address societal conditions	Aims to improve societal conditions
Examples	Freedom of speech, religion	Access to education, healthcare

Roots of Liberty

Freedom began as a political idea long ago when slavery was common. In ancient Greece, slaves had to free themselves to be free. Only free men could vote, while women could NOT participate in democracy.

• Even in the Persian empire, people from different backgrounds had the same rights. By 550 B.C., slavery was completely abolished, and women had equal rights.
• In the medieval Roman Empire, only people of Roman descent had liberty. Others, like war prisoners and slaves, had no freedom.
• The noble class exploited slaves, which led to their downfall.
• In India, equality and freedom existed since ancient times, especially during the Mughal era.
• Emperor Ashoka stopped cruel treatment of war prisoners to promote equality.
• There was no slavery during the golden ages of the Guptas and the Mauryas.

Key Principles of Liberty

Here are some Key Principles of Liberty as mentioned below.

Liberalism

In politics, when someone can speak up for themselves, take legal action against others, or raise complaints, they have the freedom to choose. Liberalism deals with many social issues by giving people the power to choose. Before granting freedom, certain things are considered like a person’s background, their rights, and setting boundaries. Liberalism promotes society’s overall freedom in exchange for their own.

Libertarianism

Libertarians aim to increase political freedom or self-governance. Libertarian groups have different opinions on laws that regulate social events. The roots of Libertarianism go back to the beginning of left-wing politics. It’s against aggressive acts like involuntary taxation.

Socialism

In socialism, freedom is seen practically. It’s about protecting someone’s ability to pursue their interests. Socialism links freedom closely with originality and functionality, similar to communist views.

Anarchism

Anarchists oppose state authority and capitalism. They see liberty as a real concept that ensures equal opportunities for all. According to anarchism, liberty is celebrated in society, not just for individuals. But there’s also a modern negative side where individual concerns come before social issues.

Republican state of liberty

According to this idea, a person must act like a republic themselves. They should make decisions independently and not limit others’ freedom to achieve their goals. This concept is inspired by the theories of Italian diplomat Machiavelli from the Renaissance period.

FAQs – Negative and Positive Liberty class 11 Polity Notes

What is positive and negative liberty Class 11 notes?

Positive liberty means freedom with few restrictions imposed by the government or society, while negative liberty is for an individual, which means complete freedom without interference from outside sources.

What is positive and negative liberty in politics?

The goal of negative freedom demands a limited role for the state, whereas positive freedom results in a larger role for the state. Following on from this, the role of the state is an absolutely key dividing line within liberal thought between those on the right of the libertarian axis and those on the left.

Who Favours the negative concept of liberty Class 11?

Political liberalism tends to presuppose a negative definition of liberty: liberals generally claim that if one favors individual liberty one should place strong limitations on the activities of the state.

What is positive liberty class 11th political science?

It defines the area of society where an individual can be free with some constraints made by the society and the government. 2. It is not concerned with the conditions of the society. ii. It is concerned with the enabling conditions of the society.

Who supported negative and positive liberty?

John Locke, Jeremy Bentham, Robert Nozick and Hayek are belongs to Negative liberty. T. H. Green, Harold Laski, and Hobson belong to Positive liberty.

What is positive and negative liberty by Berlin?

Berlin also explains in his essay how positive liberty has been abused by tyrannies, especially by the Soviet Union. The regime portrayed its brutal governance as the empowerment of the people. On the other hand, in a society with negative freedom, everyone is freer because no one’s freedom is compromised.

What is the difference between freedom and liberty Class 11?

Liberty is power to act and express oneself according to one’s will while freedom is the power to decide one’s action. Freedom is more concrete concept than liberty which is more associated with an individual’s connection with the state rather than with other individuals and circumstances.

What are the different kinds of liberty class 11?

Negative liberty is closely associated with the concept of individual rights and limited government intervention. 2. Positive Liberty: Positive liberty, on the other hand, focuses on the capacity of individuals to exercise control over their own lives and make meaningful choices.