(Talk delivered in one of the parallel sessions of the 14th IHEU World Congress held at Mumbai from 10 to 14 January 1999. It has been published in the Indian Skeptic, Vol.11, No.12)
Freedom is an important social and political ideal. Freedom and equality are regarded as important democratic ideals. Humanists, too, accept freedom as a social and political ideal, and support human rights and democracy.
Before we discuss the cultural prerequisites of freedom, we need to be clear about the concept of freedom.
In a general way, we may say that freedom means "the absence of restraint".
In ethics we discuss and talk about "freedom of will". Freedom of will means that we have the internal freedom to choose among various alternative actions available to us. However, when we talk about "freedom" as social and political ideal we do not use the term in the same sense. In the social context freedom means absence of external restraint.
D.D.Raphael, the author of Problems of Political Philosophy has said that "a man is free in so far as he is not restrained from doing what he wants to do or what he would choose to do if he knew that he could".
The Encyclopedia of Philosophy says that freedom refers primarily to a condition characterized by the absence of force or constraint imposed by another person.
John Stuart Mill’s essay On Liberty is probably the best known expression in English language of the liberal conception of freedom. According to Mill "the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their member, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others."
Mill maintains that the only part of the conduct of any one, for which he is amenable to society, is that which concerns others. In the part, which merely concerns him, his independence is, absolute. Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.
The word "culture" is often used in the common language in a restricted sense. In this restricted sense of the term, "culture" is linked to music, art and literature. However, in sociology and social philosophy the word "culture" is used in a wider sense.
According to Ralph Linton "the culture of society is the way of life of its members; the collection of ideas and habits which they learn, share and transmit from generation to generation."
In this wider sense, "culture" includes knowledge, beliefs, norms, customs, law, food-habits, manner of dressing, language, literature, art and music. In a way, beliefs and values are central to the culture of any society. While discussing the cultural prerequisites of freedom, we will concentrate on the beliefs and value aspect of culture. What kind of values and beliefs we need to nourish and encourage in order to sustain and increase freedom in any society?
Freedom is itself a value. In fact, it has been regarded as the highest value of life by a large number of social and political thinkers including M.N.Roy and J.P. in 20th century India.
If we want a society in which every individual enjoys maximum freedom, we must cultivate certain basic attitudes.
First, it is important for all of us to realize and recognize the importance of freedom. We must love and be committed to our own freedom. We must also always be ready, vigilant and alert to safeguard and defend our freedom. Besides, each one of us must have respect for the freedom of others. While exercising our freedom we have to be careful not to transgress on the similar freedom of others. The kind of mind-set, which seeks to control every action of others, is not compatible with a culture of freedom.
Though "freedom of will" and social freedom, or freedom as a social ideal, are two different concepts; they are closely related to one another. If we did not have freedom of the will, that is to say, if we did not have internal freedom to choose among various options, freedom, as a social ideal, would have no meaning at all. If we were always bound to do the one thing that we in fact do, there would be no point in saying that we should have social freedom. Automatons or robots cannot enjoy social freedom. It is more or less obvious that human beings do possess freedom of will. In fact, it is so self-evident and important that it has been regarded as a postulate in ethics. Unless human beings are internally free to do what they actually do, they cannot be regarded as responsible for their actions. Realizing once internal freedom and responsibility is an essential prerequisite for the exercise of social freedom, and the development of social morality.
Traditional religious ideas like god and fate, which deny freedom and responsibility, are not compatible with the culture of freedom. Many religious people believe that whatever we do and whatever happens in our lives is determined by god or fate. Such people cannot have any sense of moral responsibility.
We must adopt logical and scientific thinking, and get rid of erroneous ideas like god and fate if we are to develop a culture of freedom.
Family is the basic unit of all societies. It exists in almost all societies in one form or another. Thus developing the culture of freedom must begin with the family.
Traditionally, the structure of family has been authoritarian. In patriarchal family, normally it is the male head, who exercises enormous control on wife and children. Children have no say in deciding important things like what they want to study, which profession they want to adopt, or to whom they want to marry.
For developing a culture of freedom, we must democratize the structure of family. Husbands and wives should have equal rights and ought to refrain from interfering with the freedom of one another. There should be no discrimination between sons and daughters. It is obvious that children cannot be allowed the same degree of freedom as an adult. They should be protected from harming themselves till they grow mature, and are able to distinguish between right and wrong, and exercise some control on their desires and emotions, which is an essential prerequisite for moral behavior.
Yet, it cannot be denied that in our families often freedom of children is restricted unnecessarily. Children, too, are entitled to maximum possible freedom within the family. Training for democratic citizenship should begin inside the family.
Everyone should have freedom to express his or her views, irrespective of age and sex. In many families, even this freedom is denied.
In the Indian context varna-vyavastha and the caste system are a serious obstacle to developing a culture of freedom. Having a democratic political system is not enough. We must have a democratic society as well.
Moreover, in the Indian context, apart from democratization of family, destruction of the caste system is necessary for this purpose. Traditionally, the varna-vyavastha denies the freedom to study, the freedom of choosing one’s profession, and freedom to choose one’s marriage partner to everyone.
It is true that the system of varna-vyavastha has already started crumbling. Still, if we want to develop a democratic culture in India, we must continue with a sustained movement against the varna-vyavastha and the caste system so that we may ultimately usher into a casteless society.
To conclude, a democratic and scientific temper, democratization of family and destruction of the caste system are the cultural prerequisites for freedom.