What Does It Mean To Be Free?

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 438 B

José Azel's latest books "On Freedom" and "Sobre La Libertad" are now available on Amazon.  What Does It Mean To Be Free? (Previously published) Share Tweet Forward

We use the term freedom in political, economic, social, and religious contexts. But what exactly does it mean to be free? The answer to this question is crucial because different conceptions of liberty entail different political ideals, and different models of government. A good starting point to explore what it means to be free is with the distinction introduced by the early 19th century intellectual Benjamin Constant. In an 1819 work titled “The Liberty of the Ancients Compared with that of the Moderns,” Constant offered two antagonistic ideas of what it means to be free. The Ancient conception of freedom centered on the collective, and the Modern focused on the individual. In essence, Constant’s idea of “liberty of the ancients” was one which allowed citizens the right to directly influence politics through debates and votes as in ancient Greece. By “liberty of the moderns,” Constant meant the possession of civil liberties, and having control over one’s life within the rule of law.  Consider the implications. The Modern conception of liberty, a product of the Enlightenment, asserts that as individuals we have rights that are universal. Our rights do not depend on membership in a community or in government. We are born free and we institute governments to protect our freedoms. Historians place the Enlightenment, or Age of Reason, between 1715 and the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789.  In contrast, in the Ancient conception of liberty there is no understanding of unalienable individual rights. In this vision of liberty the collective comes first, and people only have the personal freedoms that society chooses to give them. Thus, government is the source of our freedoms. The Ancient conception of liberty was reawakened during The Romantic Era that followed the French Revolution, and was at its peak between 1800 and 1850.  The two conceptions of freedom are dramatically different. Whereas the thinkers of the Enlightenment viewed individual rights as supreme, the Romantics saw the freedoms of the collective as paramount and above those of the individual.  Over a century later, in 1958, political theorist Isaiah Berlin published his “Two Concepts of Liberty,” somewhat paralleling Constant’s typology with his own distinction between negative and positive freedom. In Berlin’s analysis, negative freedom is understood as freedom ‘from’ interference by other people. That is, freedom from oppression or coercion. In line with the Enlightenment’s and Constant’s Modern conception of liberty, Berlin’s negative freedom is freedom from impediments to our actions imposed by other people.  This is the supreme value of the liberal ideal of a citizen free to pursue his or her own idea of the good life without interference from the state, provided that they do not cause harm to others. In classical liberalism, the role of the state is mostly to ensure the peaceful running of a society of free individuals. The emphasis is on equality under the law, and equality of opportunities, not necessarily equality of outcomes.  Berlin’s positive freedom, or freedom ‘to’, parallels Constant’s Ancient conception of freedom centered on the collective, where the state must interfere to enable individuals to develop their potential. Politically, positive freedom grants freedom to the collective to act in accordance with its will. The politics of freedom ‘to’ are exemplified by the welfare socialist and Marxists views in which being free-- in the ‘to’ sense--justifies states to use oppression and coercion to achieve a desired distribution of society’s output. This view implies that individuals are not the best judges of what is best for them and thus the state, who knows better, must decide on their behalf.  The negative freedom of the Moderns describes freedom from tyranny and the arbitrary exercise of authority. The positive freedom of the Ancients specifies having the means to act. The interaction of these two conceptions of freedom gives rise to conflicts about what it means to be free.  We have yet to resolve the tensions between the values of the Enlightenment and the values of Romanticism. In our contemporary worldview, we seem to agree that nations ought to be free. But, incongruously, many embrace the socialist view that freedom is given by government, and individuals have no fundamental right to freedom.  Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos, Lily & José (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere.   He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Dr. Azel was a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary and throughout southern France.  They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast and in the Galapagos Islands. Most recently, they rafted for 17 days 220 miles in the Grand Canyon.  Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel José Azel’s writings are touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone who wishes to understand why countries do, or do not, progress will find in this book the best explanations. And, from these readings emerge numerous inferences: How and why do the good intentions of leftist collectivism lead countries to hell? Why is liberty not a sub product of prosperity, but rather one of its causes? If it was in my power, this work would be required reading for all college and university students, and I would also recommend its reading to all politicians, journalists, and policymakers. With his writings Azel accomplishes what was achieved in France by Frédéric Bastiat, and in the United States by Henry Hazlitt: Azel brings together common sense with intelligent observation, and academic substance. Stupendous, Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                                    BUY NOW Los escritos de José Azel están tocados por la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquiera que desee entender por qué los países progresan, o no, encontrará en este libro las mejores explicaciones. De estas lecturas surgen numerosas inferencias: ¿Cómo y por qué las buenas intenciones del colectivismo de izquierda llevan a los países al infierno? ¿Por qué la libertad no es un subproducto de la prosperidad, sino una de sus causas? Si estuviera en mis manos, esta obra sería de obligada lectura de todos los estudiantes universitarios, pero además, le recomendaría su lectura a todos los políticos, periodistas y policy makers. Con sus escritos Azel logra lo que Frédéric Bastiat consiguiera en Francia y Henry Hazlitt en Estados Unidos: aunar el sentido común, la observación inteligente y la enjundia académica. Estupendo. Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                            Compre Aqui "Liberty for beginners is much more than what the title promises. It is eighty themes touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone that wishes to understand why countries do, or do not progress, will find in this book the best explanations. Stupendous" Carlos Alberto Montaner Buy Now "Libertad para novatos es mucho más de lo que promete el título. Son ochenta temas tocados con la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquier adulto que desee saber por qué progresan o se estancan los pueblos aquí encontrará las mejores explicaciones. Estupendo." Carlos Alberto Montaner Compre Aqui In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish. Buy now

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