The Varieties of Liberty Ideals: Do Progressives, Conservatives and Libertarians Understand Freedom Differently?
Abstract
A long standing assumption in political philosophy is that the way in which one understands freedom has important consequences for the kind of political system that one favors. The paper tests this assumption by means of a comprehensive survey that explores trade-offs between seven different concepts of freedom. The results show that, beyond a certain common background (defined by psychological autonomy, freedom of choice and freedom under law), important differences are indeed present. It seems that these differences are explained by differences in personal preferences and in the beliefs about what best serves the common good. Moderates turn out to have a distinct profile.