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Occasionally, people running for political office appeal for votes by describing government and liberty as antagonistic opposites. Liberty, said one said recently, comes from God, not from government. Whether liberty is a creation of God is not an issue here. Let us put that aside and recognize that liberty is at least in part an earthly phenomenon that has a political and historical dimension. Liberty is today denied people by some rulers, and centuries ago emperors, monarchs and other conquerors denied people liberty. In England a political party, the Whigs, contributed to liberty by their support for constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule. The English philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) contributed to liberty with his rebuttal to arguments for rule by the Divine Right of kings. Locke also argued that a modern society to function well had to be unified by tolerance. And there were those who followed him, believing that a rule of law and government contribute to liberty by maintaining tolerance - by protecting people from each other. In short, liberty is at least in part created by government and defended by government.
Copyright © 2008 Frank E. Smitha. All rights reserved.
address of this article: http://www.fsmitha.com/com/liberty.htm