The Individual and Society

Where it surfaces

• I: Before Liberalism

  Discusses the relationship between the individual and the community in the Greek city-state, where interests were closely bound, and contrasts this with the authoritarian order that oppresses individuals.

• I: Civil Liberty

  The discussion of law as a restraint that liberates the individual from arbitrary coercion highlights the relationship between individual rights and social order.

• Personal Liberty

  The tension between personal religious liberty and social order is explored, particularly regarding the limits of religious practice that may infringe on the rights of others or cause public disorder.

• Social Liberty

  The chapter explores the tension between individual freedom to choose an occupation and the social structures (class, corporations, trade unions) that regulate or restrict that freedom.

• Economic Liberty

  Discusses the balance between individual freedom of contract and the need for collective responsibility, especially regarding children, housing, and employment.

• The Movement of Theory

  Examines the tension between individual natural rights and the general will, and the theory of natural harmony of interests where self-interest aligns with public good.

• IV: Laissez-Faire

  Explores the tension between individual freedom and social restraint, asserting that social liberty rests on restraint and that freedom for all requires limiting the freedom of some to injure others.

• V: Gladstone and Mill

  The chapter explores the tension between individual rights and the public welfare, particularly through Mill's utilitarian argument that permanent social health depends on respecting personal rights.

• VI: The Heart of Liberalism

  Explores the organic conception of society where individual rights and duties are defined by the common good, and progress depends on mutual adjustment.

• VII: The State and the Individual

  Explores the conflict between individual will and the general will, and how the community may legitimately override individual choice to achieve common ends.