Liberty is one and indivisible
Everybody praises liberty but few have a correct notion of it. In a general sense, liberty stands for the privilege to think, speak or do what an individual or a nation likes. But on analysing this concept closely, one finds that it is not as simple as it appears. No individual or nation can have the freedom to do anything and everything. For instance, a pedestrian cannot walk with impunity in the middle of the road, nor can a car owner have the privilege of driving his vehicle on the pavement. Again, if one claims the liberty to blow one’s bagpipe loudly at dead of night in a certain quarter, the citizens can rightly claim the privilege of sleeping soundly without being disturbed by bagpipes or other noise. The fact is that the liberty of one individual is inseparably linked with that of others. Private liberty has to be compatible with social liberty. Similarly, no nation can enjoy its freedom and independence at the expense of another. In other words, the concept of national freedom should not cut across the principle of internationalism. In order that every nation and individual can enjoy freedom, it is incumbent on them to curtail their freedom to a certain extent in order to accommodate the interests of other nations and individuals. Hence the concept of liberty is an all-pervading one and it cannot be cut up into isolated water-tight compartments.
