liberty

   Liberty, or freedom, refers to the ability to think and act as one wishes, unrestrained by external pressures. In a negative sense, it means being free from something, non-interference. It is the absence of restraints on individual action which – in its extreme form – becomes licence. In a positive sense, it implies being free to achieve some desired benefit or goal.

   Conservatives tend to view liberty in terms of the protection of property rights, the freedoms of the market economy, and from state control. Those on the Left have traditionally viewed it in terms of the realisation of a certain amount of economic and social equality achieved through governmental action. They argue that in any meaningful sense, to be free to pursue a course of action implies not merely the absence of restraint upon so doing, but also having the means to make that choice available.