up:: Politics
Real Freedom
Real freedom is a term coined by the political philosopher and economist Philippe Van Parijs. It expands upon notions of negative freedom by incorporating not simply institutional or other constraints on a person’s choices, but also the requirements of physical reality, resources and personal capacity. To have real freedom, according to Van Parijs, an individual must:
- not be prevented from acting on their will (i.e. they must have traditional negative freedom)
- possess the resources or capacities actually to carry out their will.
