1. Freedom is a liberty to do whatever a person likes to do or a positive power of doing and
enjoying the worth of work.
2. Freedom has the two aspects, i.e. positive and negative. Positive freedom refers to those
rights which do not reach any harm to others if enjoyed as well essential for an
individual's development. Negative freedom implies the absence of any restraints on
freedom.
3. Freedom is considered valuable because it allows us to make choices and to exercise our
judgement. It permits the exercise of the individual's powers of reason and judgement.
4. Freedom can be classified as natural freedom, civil freedom, political freedom, economic
freedom, religious freedom, individual freedom, etc.
5. Restrictions on the freedom of individuals may come from domination and external
controls. Such restrictions may be imposed by force or they may be imposed by a
government through laws which embody the power of the rulers over the people and
which may have the backing of force.
6. The 'Harm Caues' must be 'serious'. For minor harm,Mill recommends only social
disapproval and not the force of low. For example the playing of loud music in an
apartment building should bring only social disapproval from the other residents of the
building. They should not involve the police.
7. the existence of the 'minimum area of non-interference that human nature and human
dignity need an area where the person can act unobstructed by others.
8. Various safeguards have been provided for freedom, i.e. democratic setup, equal rights
for all, economic security constitutional provisions, etc.
9. Freedom of expression require non-interference or should not be restricted because it is
a fundamental value to be possessed by the people.
10. Though, a number of times, the demands have been raised to ban books, films, articles,
journals, etc.
11. Banning is an easy solution for the short term to meet the immediate demand but it is
very harmful for long term prospects of freedom in a society because once one begins to
ban then one develops a habit of banning.
12. Constraints of different kind thus exist and we are subject to them in different
situations.while reflecting on such situations we need to realise that when constraints are
backed by organised social-religious or cultural-authority or by the might of the state,
they restrict our freedom in ways that are difficult to fight against.