Liberty
What is liberty? How does it relate to diversity? Why are liberty and diversity important?
What is Liberty?
AntiCA is concerned with civil/social liberty in the same sense discussed by John Stuart Mill in On Liberty (1859), which asserted that (1) government and society can legitimately exercise only limited power over an individual and (2) attempts to restrict freedom beyond such limits are despotic. Mill believed everyone has the right to absolute liberty of thoughts, speech, and religion, with no restrictions. He also believed that everyone has the right to liberty of actions, except to the extent such actions harm others or interfere with others’ right to liberty.
“The only freedom which deserves the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. Each is the proper guardian of his own health, whether bodily, or mental and spiritual. Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest.”
– John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (1859)
Americans betray true liberty when they try to use coercion, including the power of government, to control what others say and do (except as necessary to protect people's rights and liberties).
How are liberty and diversity related, and why are they important?
John Stuart Mill’s support for personal liberty was based on utilitarian grounds -- i.e., individual liberty makes life better for everyone in general. He believed humanity is best served by allowing people liberty in order to fully develop humanity’s potential by allowing diversity. Mill’s thinking was influenced by Wilhelm von Humboldt’s Sphere and Duties of Government, which contained the following proposition that Mill quoted on the introductory pages of On Liberty:
“The grand, leading principle, towards which every argument unfolded in these pages directly converges, is the absolute and essential importance of human development in its richest diversity . . . .”
Wilhelm von Humboldt, The Sphere and Duties of Government (1792, 1854) | Online Library of Liberty
As Mill and von Humboldt recognized, an inevitable product of liberty is diversity – of ideas, beliefs, religions, inventions, cultures, etc. This is of course of great importance to each individual who is able to live their life and express themself as they want. But it is more than just a benefit to individuals. Communities, countries, and humanity as a whole benefit from diversity of thought and expression that lead to new beneficial ideas and inventions.
AntiCA encourages liberty and diversity, and stands against attempts by government and society to infringe on liberty, except to the extent that people’s actions harm others (or, in some cases, themselves) or interfere with others’ right to liberty.
Individual Rights Versus the State
As John F. Kennedy expressed in his 4th of July speech in 1946, soon after the end of WWII, the United States is founded on the right of individual liberty versus the government and collectivism. That right is based on respect for the integrity of the individual and the importance of allowing the unfettered growth of the human spirit. That right must be forever guarded with vigilance. The following is an excerpt from that speech:
"Our government was founded on the essential religious idea of integrity of the individual. . . . Today these basic religious ideas are challenged by atheism and materialism: at home in the cynical philosophy of many of our intellectuals, abroad in the doctrine of collectivism, which sets up the twin pillars of atheism and materialism as the official philosophical establishment of the State. Inspired by a deeply religious sense, this country, which has ever been devoted to the dignity of man, which has ever fostered the growth of the human spirit, has always met and hurled back the challenge of those deathly philosophies of hate and despair. We have defeated them in the past; we will always defeat them. . . . The right of the individual against the State has ever been one of our most cherished political principles. The American Constitution has set down for all men to see the essentially Christian and American principle that there are certain rights held by every man which no government and no majority, however powerful, can deny. Conceived in Grecian thought, strengthened by Christian morality, and stamped indelibly into American political philosophy, the right of the individual against the State is the keystone of our Constitution. Each man is free. . . . Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. It was the price yesterday. It is the price today, and it will ever be the price."
-- John F. Kennedy, “Some Elements of the American Character” speech (July 4, 1946),
Courtesy of Naval History and Heritage Museum