Liberty: Incorporating Four Essays on Liberty by Isaiah BerlinIsaiah Berlin's essay "Two Concepts of Liberty" is essential to understanding contemporary debates surrounding the concept of political freedom.
The two concepts of liberty in Berlin's essay are the "freedom from" and the "freedom to."
"Freedom from" is the freedom from coercion. Berlin calls this negative liberty because it is the absence of obstacles (like government regulations or laws). This is a readily understood definition of liberty, and it is the one embraced by liberals and libertarians alike. Citizens should have the freedom from unwanted government intrusion.
More importantly to the understanding of liberal and progressive values is Berlin's concept of positive liberty. Positive liberty is the "freedom to" pursue and achieve your goals in life.
Berlin points out that these two types of liberty can sometimes be at odds with each other. For example - the freedom to get an education might rely on a public school, which relies on taxation, a form of government coercion.
Why this is progressive/liberal: Berlin's essay is not a full-throated defense of positive liberty. In fact, he is sometimes quite critical of positive liberty. Nonetheless, it is an important distinction, and an argument with which every progressive should be familiar.
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