Political Philosophy: Liberty and Rights
6. Liberty and Community
James R. Otteson is Joint Professor of Philosophy and Economics at Yeshiva University. He specializes in the history of modern philosophy, political philosophy, and the history and philosophy of economics.
Does individual liberty threaten community? Some think it does. As philosophy professor James Otteson explains, some worry that individual liberty undermines moral community while others worry that it neglects those most vulnerable in a community, such as the poor. But Otteson cautions against thinking this way, for several reasons. As he explains, to take away individual liberty is to take away freedom of association, which interferes not only with autonomy but also with the actual creation of robust and meaningful communities. While freedom of association means some people will make choices we don't like, and some communities will decline over time, it also allows for the creation of new and different communities that evolve as their members freely choose to be a part of them.
- The Individual and the Community [Article]: Tibor R. Machan asks "how much a political system should prize individuals and how much it should stress the prominence of the community?"
- Libertarianism as Communitarianism [Article]: Daniel B. Klein asks whether there's any fundamental conflict between communitarianism and libertarianism.
- Myths of Individualism [Article]: Tom G. Palmer addresses the concern that classical liberal individualism is atomistic.
- Communitarianism and Classical Liberalsim [Podcast]: Mark Pennington gives a short lecture on the communitarian critique of classical liberalism.
- The Intellectual Portrait Series: A Conversation with Richard Cornuelle [Audio]: The late Richard Cornuelle draws "important attention to the needs and possibilities of those organizations that exist to address social problems through non-governmental means."
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Comments
Since when did voluntary association automatically mean that people would be isolated from one another? Markets do not necessarily result in this - in reality, no consumer is an island.
Its true. I have thought this a long time. If given true liberty, people with similar beliefs and expertise will find themselves associated with each other.
IRONICALLY this principle creates groups engaged in taking that very right.