NCERT Solutions For Class 11 Political Science Chapter 3 Freedom

• Freedom of citizens of the state determines the scope of freedom. In monarchy the freedom of citizens depends on the will of rulers. Democratic state grants fundamental rights to the citizens.
• On behalf of state, Government controls the affairs of the nation. Government decisions affect the freedom of citizens. It is the responsibility of the Government to maintain law and order in society.  If any conflict becomes violent, there will be loss of public property and life of citizens. It hinders the day-to-day life of state.
• If state is unable to manage army and police, it will disrupts the law and order of the country.
• A Modern welfare state always tries to protect the freedom of its citizens. Simultaneously makes sure that underprivileged and minority community do not feel threatened from majority community. Government creates environment of peace and harmony by overpowering unlawful elements.

According to M. Kechni, “Freedom is not the absence of all restraints but rather the substitution of rational ones for irrational.”

According to Laski, “Liberty means the absence of restraints upon the existence of these social conditions which in modern civilization are the necessary guarantee of individual happiness.”

To be free means to reduce or minimize social constraints that limits our ability to make choices freely. Social constraint refers to the restrictions imposed by the society.

Necessity of constraints:

To understand the need of constraint we need to examine the relationship between individual and society.

a) We need some constraint or else society would descent into chaos.

b) There are numerous reasons when disagreements may develop in a society which may express themselves through open conflict. Therefore every society needs some mechanism to control violence and settle disputes.

c) We need some legal and political restraints to ensure that differences may be discussed and debated without one group coercively imposing its views on the other.

Freedom of expression means the free flow of views and ideas without any constraint and any fear of punishment. To add to this further,    

1. It is a right of individual against state intervention.
2. It is a fundamental value and hence, society must be willing to bear some inconvenience and also to protect it from people whosoever wants to restrict it.

Reasonable restrictions on freedom of expression:

1. A society that curtails freedom of expression of masses on the whims and fancies of its rulers is deemed to go in shambles. But some reasonable restrictions need to be identified for proper functioning of living society. Any public expression that promotes hatred toward any religion need to be restricted for maintaining public order.
2. Social, Moral and religious values of society can’t be changed in a day. Reform of these values can be done in small progressive steps. An outright condemnation of long cherished moral or religious value must be discouraged / curtailed for smooth functioning of society.
3. The security of nation is of prime importance, any view that pose a threat to unity and integrity and security of nation must be curbed or restricted. But decision- makers have right to hear and ponder on such adverse opinion and decide in good faith what is good or bad for nation. As said by J S mill, “no idea is completely false. What appears to us as false has an element of truth. If we ban false ideas we would lose that element of truth that they contain.”
4. Public opinion is the direct result of media manipulation of masses. Some constraints on freedom of expression are supported by the people, and moral arguments. Any idea or view that tries to manipulate public sentiments and spread disharmony in society need to be curbed in bud.

Freedom means that an individual is allowed to do all those things which do not harm others and are essential for a person’s own development. There is a close relationship between the freedom for individual and for the nation because:

1. If nation is free, every individual of it will be free to enhance their creativities and capabilities.
2. Development of a nation depends on cooperation, creativity and capabilities of individuals, which can be exercised in the absence of external constraints.
3. A free society enables all its members to develop their potentials with the minimum of social constraints.
4. Though no society can be imagined without the absence of constraints but it is necessary to determine whether it is acceptable or justified.
5. Social constraints are necessary to be examined through debates, discussions between individual and the society.

Liberty is understood in two different ways-Negative and positive aspects of liberty.

Negative conception of liberty:

• It implies the absence of restraints and rights to do whatever one likes.
• This conception may make the powerful person more powerful to keep the weaker ones on their mercy.

Following are the drawbacks of Negative conception of liberty:

1. Liberty is concerned with the area control, not with its source; hence this is not necessary to have democracy to enjoy freedom.
2. The state should control the liberty of an individual only upto the limit where he interferes in other’s such liberty.

Positive conception of Liberty

• It refers to the society in which adequate facilities are available for each and every section of society to enjoy desirable rights.
• In brief it means the enjoyment of certain important rights such as freedom of life, freedom of thought and freedom to worship, etc.
• This believes that any individual or section should not hinder the progress of others.
• People can enjoy all freedom which are permissible by laws.
• In ensures the growth of poor, weak and downtrodden people also.
• It interprets that liberty lies in the removal of hindrances.