The Freedom of Others

According to Aristotle, men (and women) are “political animals”, i.e. they live in the polis. There, those men and women mutually recognize spaces of freedom, rights and duties, responsibilities. They create the indispensable institutions and rules. Sometimes, however, Hobbesianly, when the political order is lacking, homo homini lupus. They remain political “animals”, but they put their coexistence and their freedoms in danger. The creation/imposition from above of the political order is not enough, since everything depends on the quality of that order and the freedoms that can be exercised. Freedom from the state and its interference is necessary, but it can, under certain conditions and in specific ways, be limited. Freedom of action and participation depends on criteria and opportunities, on rules that establish their scope and consequences, and on the exercise of responsibility according to the ethics outlined by Max Weber. Since the poet, John Donne, is right and captures the deepest sense of coexistence: no man is an island, the discourse on freedom must be conducted with reference to social relations. We will all be more responsible when we recognize the freedoms of others. We will be less vulnerable when we know how to associate to solve problems. We will all be freer when we are able to create social capital.