With reference to the notions of lsquo negative and positive liberty rsquo in political theory consi...........

Indian Polity Fundamental Rights

With reference to the notions of ‘negative and positive liberty’ in political theory, consider the following statements.

1) Negative Liberty is a major characteristic of authoritarian societies and not found in democratic countries.

2) The idea of positive liberty usually applies to individuals considered primarily as members of given collectivities.

3) The idea and implementation of ‘negative liberty’ is absent from the constitution of India.

4) Article 32 and Article 226 in the Indian constitution are based exclusively on the notion of positive liberties.

1 and 2 only

2 only

1, 2 and 3 only

3 and 4 only

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Explanation:

Negative liberty is the absence of obstacles, barriers or constraints. One has negative liberty to the extent that actions are available to one in this negative sense. Positive liberty is the possibility of acting — or the fact of acting — in such a way as to take control of one's life and realize one's fundamental purposes. While negative liberty is usually attributed to individual agents, positive liberty is sometimes attributed to collectivities, or to individuals considered primarily as members of given collectivities.”
There are two contradicting ideas of thinking of liberty. On the one hand, one can think of liberty as the absence of obstacles external to the agent. You are free if no one is stopping you from doing whatever you might want to do. On the other hand, one can think of liberty as the presence of control on the part of the agent. To be free, you must be self-determined, which is to say that you must be able to control your own destiny in your own interests. In case if you are not in control of your own destiny, as you are failing to control a passion that you yourself would rather be rid of and which is preventing you from realizing what you recognize to be your true interests. One might say that while on the first view liberty is simply about how many ways are open to the agent, on the second view it is more about going through the right alternate for the right reasons.
Statement 1: From the discussion above, it is clear that negative liberty has to be perhaps an important pillar of democratic freedom.
Statement 3: For e.g. Freedom of Speech is an example of positive liberty, and the right against exploitation is an example of negative liberty. It provides for both.
Statement 4: A32 and 226 empower the higher judiciary to issue writs to enforce the fundamental rights. In one sense, this is an idea of negative liberty because the court is trying to remove barriers to an individual’s freedom. However, judicial pronouncements have also been used to empower the public, for e.g. to make primary education at the right to a clean environment a FR, or right to elementary education a FR.