THE PHILOSOPHIC CONCEPT OF LIBERTY

Liberty is a word with many meanings.

Every language in the world has a word for "liberty","To secure the blessings of liberty..."; "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"; "Life, liberty, and property." The term is often used to describe the sum total of specific liberties, including:Economic liberty - to contract or follow one's calling or avocation in life Personal liberty - to come and go as one pleases or to follow conscience Political liberty - to vote, participate in, and change one's form of government.Civil liberty - to enjoy certain unregulated, constitutionally protected freedoms Social and cultural liberty - to choose one's associates and be treated respectfully Liberty has a history showing it varies with time and place. In England prior to the Habeas Corpus Act (1679) a person could be seized and kept in prison indefinitely without trial or hearing. Freedom of conscience was unheard of prior to the Protestant Reformation. The rights to vote and hold public office were practically unknown before the 19th century. Liberties are acquired through the joining of like-minded individuals to gain special privileges for themselves. The most familiar event was the Magna Carta when English barons in 1215 wrested from King John certain freedoms that in time they had to share with the rest of the people. The history of liberty has always involved groups of people winning immunities from external control. In the middle ages, artisans and craftsmen, by agreements with their feudal overlords, obtained release from certain feudal dues and bonds, gaining a limited freedom to carry on trade and manufacture, which formed the nucleus of a middle class and the foundation of capitalism. Our founding fathers wanted America to be capitalist and to have a large middle class, and that's why so much of liberty in the American context is all about freedom of commerce and contract. The feminist movement is a good example of the attempt to gain liberty in this sense. Other minority groups haven't gotten past the stage of acquiring civil liberties. The acquired nature of liberty -- its dependence on conditions of time and place -- also makes it particularly susceptible to loss.