A free society does not mean one where everybody can do whatever they like, free of consequences. Such a thing is neither possible nor desirable. Many consequences are not imposed by people, but are in the nature of things (e.g. if you drink cyanide, you will die). One can be free to do a thing and take the consequences, but one cannot be free to do it and not take them.
Then if (even subject to this exception) everybody was free to do as they liked, those who in particular situations were stronger could injure those who were weaker, and so make them less free. If everybody is to be as free as possible, freedom cannot include the right to injure others. Apart from that, there are situations where, if there were no rules, people would get in each others way to an intolerable extent. If we did not all drive on the same side of the road, the busier roads would simply choke and come to a standstill.
Freedom is necessarily limited, but the principle that distinguishes a free society from an unfree one is that in a free society every person belongs to him or herself. In an unfree society people belong to some other entity the king, the nation, the people all of which mean, in reality, the government. In a free society, everything is allowed which is not expressly forbidden (in advance). In an unfree society, in principle, nothing is allowed. Before you can do something, you have to receive an order, or at least receive permission.
The clearest example of an unfree society, which is the model that most people who advocate such societies have in mind, is an army. Theirs not to reason why. Theirs but to do or die. The working of a free society is best illustrated by traffic rules. There is a rule of the road, there are speed limits, one-way streets, stop streets and traffic lights; but in all this elaborate system of constraints, nobody is telling the individual drivers what their destinations should be. All these millions of drivers are going about their own business and the sole purpose of the rules is (or at least is meant to be) to enable them to do so as safely and effectively as possible. Such is a free society.
Source:Michael ODowd is the Chairman of the Free Market Foundation. This article may be reprinted without prior consent but with acknowledgement. Everybody says they want freedom but they dont all mean the same thing in this series of brief articles Mr ODowd explains his concept of a free society. The patrons, council and members of the Foundation do not necessarily agree with the views expressed by the author of the article.
FMF\3 July 2001
