POLITSC 3430 FINAL PAPER.docx - Benedetto 1 Olivia...

Benedetto 1
Olivia Benedetto
POLITSC 3430
Final Paper
29 November 2021
After reading Charles Taylor’s essay titled “What’s Wrong with Negative Liberty”,
it is evident that Taylor is dissatisfied with Isaiah Berlin’s presentation of negative and
positive liberty. Taylor finds that Berlin’s theory is lacking because Berlin’s theories of
negative and positive liberty are too extreme and fail to fairly represent what freedom
could be . Between Charles Taylor and Isaiah Berlin, I find Taylor’s theory to be more
persuasive because I have found that Taylor’s account of positive and negative freedom
recognizes dynamic interactions between the different ways of life are inevitable, whereas
Berlin’s explanations of negative and positive liberty, are not complex enough and do not
account for the unexpected events that come with being a free-willed human being.
Before examining why Taylor finds Berlin’s theory to be lacking. It is important to
ask: how does Berlin define negative and positive liberty? Negative liberty, summarized
in the simplest form possible, is not being interrupted or interfered by anything or anyone
when attempting to do something. It is freedom from control by other individuals. There is
an absence of barriers when referring to negative liberty. In Berlin’s case, he points out

Benedetto 2
that negative liberty has an indirect impact on the lives of others. Therefore, it is in
society’s best interest to restrict negative liberty in order to protect values like justice and
equality. This is an interesting thought from Berlin because he defines negative liberty in
the broadest form possible.
On the other hand, Berlin’s explanation of positive liberty is defined as doing
whatever it is that fits one's higher, rational, true self. Positive liberty is more complex
than negative liberty because it is not liberty from interference, but instead, it is the liberty
to do something. Positive liberty has nothing to do with the availability of opportunities.
Instead, it focuses on taking advantage of such opportunities by freeing yourself from
internal obstacles you might be faced with.
According to Berlin, the philosophical foundation for positive liberty is, “the
rational solution of one problem cannot collide with the equally true solution of another,
for two truths cannot logically be incompatible; therefore, a just order must in principle be
discoverable- an order of which the rules make possible correct solutions to all possible
problems that could arise in it.” Berlin makes a solid point by arguing that positive liberty
does not have anything to do with the availability of opportunities, but rather, it focuses on