The Nature of Liberty
Before the nature of liberty can be discussed, it must first be noted that there are two types of liberty. The first liberty is in relation to a man as an individual. Man is a “rational animal:” he can be reasonable, but still may respond to the base and vulgar passions of the world. It is the rational will of man that attempts to escape these passions. What may be called “personal liberty,” then, is man’s escape of these passions, so that he may act in accordance with reason. The second liberty is in relation to the political regime in which a man has consented to join. Governments are created to help secure the natural rights of its body politic, as the apolitical state of nature offers no such protections. Government, by securing men against the possible violence of the state of nature, allows them to be truly free and to act according to their will. The second liberty, then, can be called “political liberty.” In identifying these two types of liberty, we see that liberty is not meant to be an end but only a means to allow reason to rule. The nature of liberty then is the freedom to act rationally.
