Freedom From Coercion And The Freedom Of Living A Thriving Life

When you ask people what freedom is they may respond that freedom is when you can do whatever you want to do at whatever time. Mostly this will be the response of kids and young adults. But this definition of freedom is incorrect. Freedom is when we are allowed to have power of right to act without violating other people's freedoms or rights. The most effective tools for establishing and preserving freedom are strong government and constitution. A quote that can help out the claim comes from the Declaration of independence “We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal: that they are endowed by their creator with unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.

Mill claims that his purpose in writing on liberty is to assert what he describes one very simple principle. The principle that ought to govern society and that principle has come to be known as the harm principle. The individuals own good either physical or moral is not a sufficient warrant for societal intervention. The individual cannot rightfully be compelled to do or not to do because it will be better for him to do so because it is better for him to do so because it will make him happier.

True freedom is not something that can be given. It is something that every single person must discover for themselves. If a person were set free, though still thought of themselves as a slave, they are a slave. America is a country that thrives on freedom. Though numerous people throughout the United States take this privilege for granted.

The United States criminal justice system have been known to be one of the most injustice system in the world. Criminal justice is known as the system of law enforcement, involving police, lawyers, courts, and corrections, used for all stages of criminal proceedings and punishment (Dictionary.com). One of the most heartbreaking things that happen in the United States every year is innocent people being condemned for crimes that

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These are the three rights granted to every American, however, this did not seem to apply to the poor during the Gilded Age. The poor lacked opportunities to climb the ladder of social class to escape poverty, and the wealth of America was so concentrated in an individual few that one man, J.P. Morgan, was able to end the Financial Panic of 1893, preventing an economic depression. The rich were getting richer and the poor were getting poorer. The disparity between the wealthy and those facing poverty was ever growing, which makes one question, what should be done, if anything at all? This was a major problem during the time and was the topic of many debates. Figures like William Graham Sumner,

The Course of human events has once again arrived at a time when consideration must be given by the people to dissolving the political bonds connecting them with another, and to again assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Natural Laws entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that the people should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

This idea was explored further in Atlas Shrugged, where individuals like Dagny and Hank were forced to abandon their ambitions and needs in lieu of whatever the majority in power, the government, dictated. Their industries were restricted and nationalized by political leaders who argued their sacrifice was for the good of the “big family” (Rand, Atlas Shrugged 608), but like in Soviet Russia, the only ones who benefited were the leaders themselves. Consider the “anti-dog-eat-dog rule” (Rand, Atlas Shrugged, 77), which limited the expansion of railroad companies and the start-ups of new companies; such regulations and antitrust laws symptomatic of socialism rob individuals of their rights to support and run businesses (Rand, “What is Capitalism?”), Rand explained, despite their claim to help consumers and business owners.

According to conservatives, By allowing government control over local and state business issues is hereby disregarding the law of the land. This disregard has a tendency of diminishing order and justice. In 1960 the Younger Americans for Freedom(YAF), a group of young conservatives, gathered and made a list of conservatives beliefs. Within the statement, the YAF expressed that government inference “reduce[es] the moral and physical strength” of America. They are implying that business regulations like prohibiting monopolies decrease competition which gives America character.

America land of the free and home of the brave or at least that’s what we’re raised to think. The suppression of civil liberties has lingered amongst us since the birth of this nation. To resolve this problem, the federal government is known to introduce legislation in order to balance equality in society. Since companies are bound to the law of the land, they must comply with all rules and regulations but often, largely successful companies will go above and beyond meeting the standard by listening to public opinion. It is often a choice for companies however, to decide which is the best opinion to follow. As a nation we once were in full swing in support of civil liberties but in light of recent events, (such as the

In his book “On Liberty” Mill states that the only time individuals or society as a whole can interfere with individual liberty is for self-protection and that coercion by the many toward the individual is only acceptable when that specific individual poses a threat to others. This is known as the harm principle: "The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others."

Perkins primary message is to show the collusion between government and corporatism that illustrates the mass-corruption of the government as a grave danger to the liberty of the average American citizen, or global citizen for that matter. In this manner, the concept of “corporatism” defines the unbridled greed and profiteering that Perkin’s defines through the context of U.S. imperialism and privatized corporate and banking institutions that control these economic factors in the global economy.

For generations, we as a society have evaluated what we call our freedoms, as they constantly continue to influence our quality of life. In the 1940s, President Franklin Roosevelt's Message to Congress promised the people of America Four Freedoms, or freedoms that are imperative to human life. These freedoms included freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Freedom of speech goes back to the first amendment where there is the liberty of expression. Freedom of worship allows people to practice any belief system they desire, as well as worship the God that they please. Freedom from want meant no citizen should have to yearn for the basic needs to survive, and should be provided with a standard living. Finally, freedom from fear meant for there to be no fear of having to use aggression against a neighbor, in addition to being granted peace and a sense of security. These were the guaranteed freedoms stated by the president for the future. However, as time progressed and certain events in history began occurring, these freedoms may have slipped from view and become less practiced. It is clear to see that the United States government did not effectively uphold these freedoms during, the time the U.S declared war against the Japanese, during the scare of Communism, and in the day to day life for citizens in minority groups.

American philosophy is littered with differences in opinion, on matters of knowledge, our purposes as humans, and the ways we perceive the world around us. As I examine the works of thinkers like the enlightenment-driven Jefferson, the transcendentalists Emerson and Thoreau, and racially thinking philosophers like DuBois and Douglas, it becomes clear that an important basis of some of our greatest thought in America is the notion that all humans are created equal.

Since, if anyone should have the power to impose taxes and make expenditures to promote social objectives, it shouldn’t be corporations but the government, as they have the resources and knowledge to make these kinds of decisions that could potentially have an impact on all our lives. Friedman argues, “Business professionals have neither the power nor possibly even the knowledge necessary to address larger societal problems, even if they wanted to” (Friedman, Milton. 1970). An example he refers to is the fact that business professionals are not in a position to fight inflation, where factors, such as money supply and aggregate demand need to be considered. Overall it is investing governmental power in a person who has no general mandate to govern and why should we allow unelected companies to determine our social values and to take over the role of elected government.

Another concern expressed by Keong (2007) is the idea that positive liberty means we expect the state to hand us certain things on a silver platter. Positive liberty has been used as a platform to push through ideas such as the principle that everyone is entitled to a minimum income or standard of living, though not everyone is comfortable with the “moral hazard this might evoke” (Keong, 2007). Key questions asked with this in mind include; ‘if you are guaranteed something, will you be willing to contribute back to society for it? Or, will you sit around and collect your entitlements? (Keong, 2007; Haworth, 1991).