Liberal thinkers support both the negative and positive views of liberty. In the negative view, liberty is treated as the absence of restraint in the sphere of individual actions. This is to counter interference of authority/state in the individual’s area of activity. One school of liberal thinkers supports the negative view of liberty and would be happy if interference from the state or external forces is either absent or minimal. In the positive view, liberty or freedom is taken as enabling conditions in terms of socio-economic requirements necessary for enjoyment of liberty. It is also related to self-development or moral and self-realization. The other school of liberal thinkers supports the positive view of liberty and seeks interference by the State or authority for making provision and providing enabling conditions. Macpherson likes to call developmental or creative freedom to designate positive liberty. While the negative view of liberty is generally associated with laissez-faire and minimalist state advocated by Smith, Locke, Hayek, Friedman, Berlin and Nozick, the positive view of liberty is identified with the welfare state supported by Mill, Green, Laski, Barker, Tawney, Hobhouse, Macpherson, Rawls, Chapman, Galbraith, Amartya Sen, etc.
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