Fundamentals of freedom and responsibility

(Post updated on 19 June 2014)

Freedom is bounded by responsibility

Freedom isn't just about being allowed to do what we want, when we want, because in order to maximise the collective freedom that we enjoy as a society, we have a responsibility to not act in a way that impinges upon the freedom of others, to an extent that more than offsets our own personal gain. One well-established example of this problem is the tragedy of the commons.  And sometimes, we misbehave in ways that are actually detrimental to freedoms in the long run.  These behaviours can thus be termed irresponsible, and we do need rules and regulations in place to help filter out irresponsible behaviour, and to enforce them using the appropriate combination of punishment (to act as a deterrent) and rehabilitation (to reduce the risk of people re-offending).

Rules and regulations require balance

If rules and regulations are too lenient then we may risk allowing irresponsible behaviours, which may erode the collective freedom that society enjoys.  But if we make them too strict, then we end up prohibiting responsible behaviour, and thus eroding our collective freedom as a society.  One classic case is the tragedy of the anticommons- freedoms exist, which could be utilised at no cost to anybody, but because we set up rules prohibiting them and tell the masses that they must obey the rules or face punishment, the freedoms are somewhat under-utilised, at a cost to society as a whole.

It is particularly important that we set up rules that reflect wider moral considerations, and follow them out of respect for those moral considerations.  Many over-restrictive rules survive for decades and even centuries because far too many of us are taught to accept and obey rules without question because "rules are rules" (because the authority who set the rules said so, or because that's just the way we've always done things, for example)- this gives authorities too much power to set up whatever rules they like and argue, "I'm right, you're wrong, because I said so."

The two traps that we often fall into re. over-restrictive rules

• Setting up rules that say, "You must follow a certain way of doing and thinking or be marginalised", which prohibit alternative ways of doing and thinking that are harmless, but are seen as different to the expected norm.  This suppresses innovation and independent thinking, and can be associated with discrimination against vulnerable, disadvantaged and/or minority groups.
• Collective punishment/punishment by association- prohibiting and punishing responsible ways of doing and thinking by association with the actions of an irresponsible minority.

One common danger of setting up rules that are too restrictive, and arguing that they should be obeyed purely because "rules are rules", is that some people may rebel against rules in general as a result (including the good ones, as well as the bad) rather than just rebelling against the bad ones, and that can lead to anarchic underground cultures, for example.