Berlin's Two Conceptions of Liberty

what does Berlin do in his essay ‘Two Conceptions of Liberty” and why? [1]

he attempts to define liberty through his two concepts

because he believes that it is clarifying beliefs and ideas which is central to politics whereas deciding political actions was less political but technical

he justifies the importance of understanding liberty which he deems “the central question of politcs- the question of obedience and coercion”

what is liberty in its negative sense?

political liberty is “simply the area within which a man can act unobstructed by others”

what is liberty in its positive sense?

“the wish on the part of the individual to be his own master”

to be the one who determines your own actions

how is Berlin’s conception of negative liberty different to the classical libertarian notion of liberty?

classical notion is the maximal non-interference by the state

it is a doctrine (harm principle) whereas negative liberty is a concept

what is the difference between Berlin’s attitude to liberty and the classical libertarian attitude to liberty?

for classical libertarians liberty is taken as a supreme value whereas Berlin is a value pluralisw

what does it mean to be a value pluralist?

it means that Berlin does not argue that liberty is the only or supreme political value

why does Berlin argue that liberty in its positive sense is dangerous? [1]w

he refuses the possibility of true freedom in being one’s own master because this “‘real’ or ‘ideal’ or autonomous self … is then contrasted with irrational impulse, uncontrolled desires”

where does Berlin’s conception of negative liberty allow for interference?

allows for legitimate interference that reduce negative liberty so long as they pursue other values such as (equality, security)

what is Hirschmann’s key criticism of Berlin’s argument?

she criticises his binary as ideologically biased and therefore politically dangerous

she argues that Berlin attempts to “ally positive liberty with “bad guy” Communist dictatorships and negative liberty with good guy Western democracies”