Nordicum-Mediterraneum (Dec 2008)
Freedom and the Collective
Abstract
Since Isaiah Berlin’s epitomizing Cold War-essay, "Two Concepts of Liberty, " thinkers who emphasize collective concepts of social life have carried the burden of proof against charges of totalitarian tendencies. The background is a ground figure in contemporary political thought that sets notions of collectivity against individual freedom, in a zero sum game: Either one is in favour of the individual, or one is in favour of the collective, and hence, so the bias has it, willing to sacrifice the rights and liberties of individuals. Since it is impossible to favour the latter position and remain liberal, in the wide sense of the term, this dichotomy serves to rob contemporary political thought of both its classical and revolutionary connotations, leaving only individual initiatives like lobbying and voting. Cornelius Castoriadis offers a way around this – arguably false – dichotomy, by regarding individual and collective freedom as two sides of the same coin.
