Liberty Part I

The concept of liberty has been the centerpiece of philosophical thought ever since man first realized the advantages of forming social groups. Indeed, mankind’s ability to resist the arbitrarily hostile environment that surrounds him rests solely on his ability to adapt to and exploit what little nature has provided him. Spreading the skills necessary to survive among the many instead of the few has the effect of giving each group participant access to protection, food, medical care, and shelter that he could not have had, had he been left to his own device. Entering into such a pact of mutual assistance is not, however, without its drawbacks: the more we rely on one another to survive, the less freedom we will have to make our own unrestricted choices.

The freedom to make unrestricted choices is the essence of liberty. In order for the members of a given society to survive, they must surrender a certain amount of their own liberty or self-determination. This self-determination is the currency of survival.

Let us take a man who specializes in producing food, and one who has dedicated his time to the study of medical science as an example of the transactions of liberty that may occur in a functioning society. The farmer spends his time growing food, as time goes on his ability to grow food becomes a specialized skill not shared on the same scale with an individual who has used his time becoming expert at the medical sciences. Both men in this example have something the other covets: the farmer can offer the doctor sustenance and conversely, the doctor, through his specialized training, is now in the position to offer the farmer medical care as needed. It must be stressed that either man will have at least a modest ability to accomplish the other man’s task but not to the extent where either will be performing optimally for the society in which they have contracted to take part. A society that does a poor job of matching its needs with the best suited to satisfy these needs, is not giving itself the best chance to survive.

So how does liberty fit into the above example? To be continued soon.