Political Science 103 lecture 4

LIBERTY OF TWO TYPES

Isaiah Berlin distinguishes between two types of liberty: Negative liberty ("freedom from...") Positive liberty ("freedom to...")

WHAT IS POLITICAL THEORY?

Political theory (or political philosophy): Aims to identify and theorize ideal political systems and institutions. Also known as normative theory.

HOW POLITICAL THEORY HELPS US TO UNDERSTAND POLITICS

Political theory has three major roles in the study of politics. It clarifies our assumptions we make as political scientists (e.g., what is a democracy? What is an oligarchy?) It clarifies our goals (e.g., what is the normative value of our analyses?) It is important as a reflection on the "good society."

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY LIBERTY?

By LIBERTY we mean: the political/social/economic freedoms that all individuals in society are entitled to.

NEGATIVE LIBERTY

NEGATIVE LIBERTY refers to: the freedom from external restraint or interference. Liberty in this conception is the idea of having no masters (or at least as few masters as possible in the context of making sure others' negative freedom is not impinged upon).

NEGATIVE LIBERTY: THE GOOD STUFF

Negative liberty points us to the problem of coercion in society. You can't be free if you are too often coerced into doing things you wouldn't Negative liberty points us to the problem of coercion in society. You can't be free if you are too often coerced into doing things you wouldn't otherwise do. This is PRECISELY why Britons settled in America—too much oppression from the British government.