What freedom is and why constraints exist

What is freedom? It has two dimensions:

• Absence of external constraints: a person is free if not subject to outside control or coercion, and able to make independent decisions and act autonomously.
• Expanding the ability of people to express themselves and develop their potential: freedom as the condition in which people can develop their creativity and capabilities, in sport, science, art, music or exploration.
• A free society enables all its members to develop their potential with the minimum of social constraints. Freedom matters because it lets us make choices and use our reason and judgement.

No one living in society can enjoy a total absence of constraints. So the key question is: which social constraints are justified, and which should be removed? That means examining the relationship between the individual and society (group, community, state).

Sources of constraint:

• Domination and external control, imposed by force or through laws that embody rulers' power: colonial rule, or apartheid in South Africa. Some government is inevitable, but a democratic government lets people keep some control over rulers, so democracy is an important protector of freedom.
• Social and economic inequality, as in the caste system or extreme economic inequality.
• Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose (1929) called for 'all round freedom': for individuals and society, rich and poor, men and women, all classes; not only freedom from political bondage, but also equal distribution of wealth, the abolition of caste barriers and social injustice, and the end of communalism and religious intolerance.

Why do we need constraints at all? Without some, society would fall into chaos.

• People have different ideas, conflicting ambitions, and compete for scarce resources. Disagreements, serious or trivial (road rage, parking disputes, land quarrels, whether a film should be shown), can turn into conflict and violence. Every society needs ways to control violence and settle disputes.
• Even a free society needs at least one constraint: that we respect differences of views, opinions and beliefs. When some try to impose their views, bully or harass others, we need legal and political restraints so that differences are debated without coercion.
• The real questions: Which constraints are necessary and justifiable? What authority may justifiably impose them? Are there areas of life that should be free of all external constraint?

Example (new): a cricket match needs rules and an umpire; without them every close decision would end in a fight. The rules restrict the players, but they also make a free and fair game possible.