Man is born free but everywhere he is in chain. – J. J. Rousseau Discuss the meaning and importance of freedom in the light of this quotation.
Every animal including man is born free. All animals in their natural state, except man who is precluded by civilization to be in his natural state, are free. Some animals lose their freedom only because of man’s needs and deeds. The world is ‘open’ and not ‘closed’ in its natural state; every animal – man is not exempted – desires novelty, spontaneity and genuine creativity, which are the hallmarks of freedom.
Man, though born free like other animals, is in chain everywhere. This is because of the restrictions and restraints which he imposes on himself and which are imposed on him by others. For example, no one is expected to appear naked in public in the name of freedom. There are social norms to be followed. Different occasions demand different customs. Man, living in a society, has to follow certain customs, conventions and traditions in the interest of harmonious existence; he cannot take the stand that he is absolutely free and that he can do things in his own way.
Man, in the process of his change from primitive tribalism to civilized existence, has chained himself more and more to rules and regulations. Unlike other living creatures, he is capable of thinking and is intelligent to devise ways and means of exploiting his fellowmen. This exploitation leads to his keeping them subdued and enslaved. Imperialism in the past and neo-colonialism and neo-imperialism today have only been instruments of suppressing the aspirations for freedom of the exploited. A classic example of suppression in the modern world is witnessed in the policy of apartheid and racial discrimination practised in South Africa.
The craving for freedom in any living creature is instinctive. In man, it is not only instinctive but also cerebral. The fight for freedom with which one is born has been age-old. It continues unabated, and it can be traced back until it is obscured in the dim past. The Magna Carta, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, the American Bill of Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Supreme Court decisions on civil liberties in the United States, India, etc. point to man’s craving for freedom. He has always said:
Off with the fetters
That chafe and restrain!
Off with the chain!
Emerson almost deifies Freedom; he sings:
My angel – his name is Freedom –
Choose him to be your King;
He shall cut pathways east and west,
And fend you with his wing.
Today man in his civilised existence attaches importance to freedom in the sense of the protection of the civil liberties, of which the rights to think, speak, and write are especially important. These and related freedoms are not granted by the state or any group in society, even though the state may need to exercise some control where conflicts of rights occur. If the state grants these rights, then the state can take them away, and that is what freedom-loving men in the past have not been willing to admit. Those rights are human, social, natural or god-given, based on the nature of man and the conditions necessary for his development and the common good.
Four kinds of freedom need to be distinguished. There is first, freedom of choice, or moral freedom. There is, second, freedom from external restraint, or physical freedom. This is a particularly important issue where totalitarian governments are in power. Freedom from external compulsion is very important. Even a dog lies contentedly all day long in the shade of a tree, but whines miserably if tied to the same tree for five minutes. Tom Sawyer’s pals were willing to give up their most cherished possessions for a turn at white-washing his fence, but “would wail like fettered injuns”, if told they must do the same thing at home. Everyone is against compulsion and restriction of his freedom to choose.
The third freedom is political freedom which includes equality before the law, trial before an impartial tribunal, and the right to vote or be elected. Under political freedom come freedom of speech, thought, and conscience, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly or organisation and a share in the control of the conditions of life.
There is social and economic freedom. Here, the question arises whether there should be control or legislative regulation of a man’s business, professional, or other activities, or whether these should be free from all interference. In the interest of the harmonious functioning of society, there must needs be checks and balances. These checks and balances are bound to encroach upon the natural freedom of which Rousseau speaks.
It is true that man is born free. A civilized existence demands certain curbs on his natural freedom. Today man has surrendered part of his freedom for the sake of his civilized existence. This, however, does not mean that he is everywhere in chain. Here and there man exploits man. But in a civilized society man cherishes his moral freedom, his intellectual freedom, his political freedom and his economic freedom.
