There are no reasonable limits to freedom

Reader comment on: Photo of the Day
in response to reader comment: There are some reasonable limits to personal freedoms

Submitted by Harry Binswanger (United States), Jun 27, 2013 17:48

No, a condition on the use of private property is not a limit on anyone's freedom. It's an *excercise* of freedom, the bank's freedom. No one has the right to dictate to others the way they (peacefully) use their property.

Define "freedom." It is a negative concept, denoting the absence of coercive intereference with one's actions. As someone said, your freedom to swing your fist ends where my nose begins.

There is no such thing as the "freedom" to initiate force against others--no freedom to rob, rape, murder, etc. If you've defined your concept of "freedom" in a different way, you can't defend that definition. Or your freedom.

Concepts have to be recognize fundamental differences in reality, not obscure them. The fundamental here is the difference between initiated force and other types of human interactions. Freedom is the absence of initiated force.

Note: Comments are moderated by the editor and are subject to editing.

Other reader comments on this item

Comment on this item