Freedom and Infringements

What is freedom and how can it be infringed? It has many interpretations across many different cultures. However, my interpretation is that freedom correlates with the ability to live life, maintain liberty and pursue happiness. Freedom is complex, but this short understanding will do for now. To understand freedom one must understand acts and infringements of freedom. An act of freedom would be something like going to the gym without having to pay an arbitrary fee or riding your bike around town.

Infringements

An infringement upon your freedom is something that takes away, negates, or keeps you away from your freedoms. An example would be an economic system that makes people pay for food, water, and shelter. People without money aren’t free to live in a home. They can’t live life because they are simply trying to survive. Infringements upon a person’s freedom can be big or small. Infringements upon a person’s freedom shouldn’t be taken lightly. This is why concepts like human rights were created. Too many people were having their human rights infringed so the world community had to do something about it. The more freedoms that are protected and expanded upon, the freer a people are.

One can infringe upon another

However, there are limits. Some freedoms can infringe upon other people’s freedom. An example of this is the freedom to kill someone. This freedom if used infringes upon another person’s freedom to live and exist. They can not pursue their freedoms if they are dead. This complex net of freedoms and infringements is what makes freedom so complicated. The freest society is one that expands upon its freedoms with minimal infringements. An example of this is a society where food, water, and shelter are free. This allows one to pursue their freedoms much easier.

Survival Isn’t freedom

One cannot live if they are simply trying to survive. Unclean air infringes upon a person’s freedom to breathe clean air. For-profit education models infringe upon a person’s freedom to pursue a quality higher education. A city designed around cars instead of people infringes upon a person’s right to a walkable neighborhood. Ultimately, fulfilling and protecting more freedoms than a nation infringes, eventually makes a society that is freer than most

Written by Kenneth Mazerat

Sources

LiveScience: What Is Freedom? by Katharine Gammon

AristotlesCafe: What Is Freedom, And How Can We Define It?

Sigtheatre: Defining Freedom

Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Bob Harris’ Flickr Page – Creative Commons License