Introduction

Human history is full of examples of people and entire communities who were dominated, enslaved or exploited by more powerful groups — but it is equally full of extraordinary stories of resistance against that domination. At its core, the struggle for freedom is about people wanting to be in control of their own lives and destinies, to express themselves and make their own choices, and — just as importantly — about whole societies wanting to protect their independence, their culture and their future.

But living together in society is never simple. Because people have different interests and ambitions, some rules and constraints on individual freedom are unavoidable, and it is recognised that such constraints can actually free us from insecurity and give us the conditions in which we can develop ourselves. The difficult part is telling which constraints genuinely protect us from those that merely restrict us with no good reason — and whether the social and economic structure of a society can itself limit how free people really are. Much of political theory's discussion of freedom is really an attempt to work out principles for making exactly this distinction.

The chapter opens with two well-known photographs — of Aung San Suu Kyi and Nelson Mandela, placed side by side because both spent long years resisting authoritarian rule (Mandela against apartheid in South Africa, Suu Kyi against military rule in Myanmar) and both later wrote books about that struggle. By the end of this chapter you should be able to explain the importance of freedom for individuals and societies, explain the difference between the negative and positive dimensions of freedom, and explain what is meant by the 'harm principle'.