Etymologically speaking, the word Liberal shares a root with the word Liberty. To put it most simply, the liberal believes that liberty and individual freedom are the most essential components of a society. The problem with using this definition is that the terms “liberty” and “freedom” are far from concrete. One could argue that forcing individuals to wear helmets while cycling maximizes their freedom by keeping them alive, while an equally valid argument would contend that such a law impinges upon the freedo

Positive liberty occurs when an individual pursues his own real interest, whether or not he may be aware of that interest. Cigarette smokers lacks positive freedom because, while their real interest may lie in leading a long, healthy, and cancer-free life, they continue to smoke. Another example would be someone driving a car without wearing a seatbelt, for whatever reason, laziness or stupidity, individuals choose to neglect their real interest and drive without their seat belts on. Maximizing a society’s positive freedom might include forcing individuals to do things which are considered “good”. (Conference, Oct 22nd)

The assumption behind positive freedom is that the good life, or real interest, is the same for all people concerned. For example, if a state were to ban homosexuality, they would be are assuming heterosexuality is a component of the good life for all citizens in that state. According to liberal theory this assumption is not a valid one. The liberal would argue that because the tastes and preferences of individuals differ, the good life must also differ from person to person. The only way for a society to maximize utility across its populace is for each individual to pursue their own conception of the good life. The liberal, therefore, supports the negative conception of liberty as being the more basic form of liberty. (Dworkin)

We can make a distinction between two types of liberty, a negative conception of liberty, and a more positive type of liberty. Negative liberty is a freedom from coercion, a freedom to do what one likes within reason. In this sense the individual is free when her actions are not controlled or influenced by anyone other than themselves. For instance, a ban on cigarettes is a violation of negative liberty because an outside body would be placing restraints on what an individual can or cannot do. (Conference, Oct 22nd)

On the surface, Rousseau’s theory seems to fulfill the first criterion quite easily. In order for a theory to be liberal, it must be democratic, Rousseau’s theory is democratic, therefore it is liberal (Rousseau, 1.6-1.7). It is important to remember that this criterion was derived from the concept of negative free

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