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It
has been said, "freedom isn't free". This is never
more true than in a free society where it can be expanded to
say, "with freedom comes responsibility". Kelleher
builds upon this in his book by explaining that there are
two kinds of "freedom". There is freedom in the
libertarian sense, which we might call "freedom
from". This "freedom from" includes freedom
from infringement upon property rights, freedom from
violence of our fellow humans, freedom from
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usurpation of rights, etc. The Bill of rights in the U.S.
Constitution lays out many of these freedoms. It is worth
noting that all of these freedoms are basically a limitation
of outside interference on the individual. Kelleher goes to
tell us there is another kind of "freedom" that
has crept into our society. It is the "freedom
to". There is now the freedom to have affordable
housing, the freedom to be fed, the freedom to have health
care, or to an education.
The
author explains with clarity that trying to implement both
types of freedom comes with accompanying problems due to the
fact that these two freedoms are mutually exclusive. To
provide someone with a freedom to affordable housing, the
wealth used to give it must be taken from someone whether
they want to give it up or not. Thus, we see that any
transfer of wealth to provide a "freedom to" is an
imposition on the rights of a person who has a "freedom
from". We can see the "freedom from" rights
are inherent in the constitution and require a passive
government, while the "freedom to" rights are
manufactured by the social system and require the active
interference of government and coercive force.
Kelleher uses this concept and many others to take a whole
new approach to social problems. His book is packed full of
ideas and analysis about modern American sociology that will
leave the casual reader in awe and the attentive student
considering new perspectives.
Kelleher's book provides a sound understanding of what it
means to have a free society, how it should work, how to
identity inherent problems and how to correct those
problems. The reader will come away with a truer
understanding of what freedom is, or should be, and how to
maintain it.
Other
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