If liberty is freedom and anarchy doesn't have rules, then why is there such a big difference between the two?

Question

or is the difference not really that big? i'm really confused. Help please.

Answer 1

Liberty isn't a system of government, it's an idea of what the proper relationship between people and their government is. Thus different systems of government can have more or less liberty.

Anarchists believe that government of any kind should be abolished, and replaced with cooperative effort. In anarchy people are thus entirely free from government control, but they are also at the mercy of their fellow men, since there is no state power to protect them.

Answer 2

For practical purposes, there is definitely a pretty big difference between liberty and anarchy.

The reason that this may be be confusing stems from thinking of liberty as simply "freedom".

Liberty is a political notion, probably borne out of the time of the French and then American Revolutions, and involves having certain freedoms until then not available\ or widespread. Such as freedom of religion say, or freedom of speech.

It would probably not include the freedom to kill other people for instance, and so it is not really absolute freedom. Liberty is probably better defined as individual freedom THAT DOES NOT INFRINGE ON THE FREEDOMS OF OTHERS OR OF THE GROUP AS A WHOLE. So the freedom to main, to murder, or to persecute are not liberties modern societies allow their citizens, and not generally a part of the definition of 'liberty' as such.

Being able to do whatever you want whenever you want - absolute freedom - is probably more akin to anarchy, in its common usage.

As a political philosophy though, anarchy was related to Communism, and involved (I think) the eventual absence of a state or government, leaving citizens to do what they pleased. I think the idea was not for there to be looting and murder galore though, but the 'withering away of the state' was meant to take place when people had sufficient communal consciousness not to need an authoritarian government telling them what to do.

Finally, a guy called J S Mill wrote a famous book called "on Liberty" which is probably the best reference on the concept. I haven't read it but helpful as ever Wikipedia has this to say:

"The book explores the nature and limits of the power that can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual. One argument that Mill develops further than any previous philosopher is the harm principle. The harm principle holds that each individual has the right to act as he wants, so long as these actions do not harm others."

Hope that's helpful. :)

Answer 3

liberty comes with laws and orders made up by society that says children must go to school from 9 to 3 and adults must work from 9 to 5. We do however in this liberated society have the freedom to choose where our children go to school and where we as adults would like to work. Liberty = Societal laws or freedom given. Anarchy is the total opposite it is self made freedom not instilled by law and order. Anarchy is a form of freedom in which you fight for and if not given ie: a change in law and order you just take it. Anarchy= Freedom Taken.

Answer 4

There's hope for you truthseeker.

You are correct that anarchy is the maximization of human freedom.

Catch is that humans are not seeking to maximize unrestrained choice; they are seeking to maximize the ability to act on the choices they make.

People give up some of their freedom to form a society, for the power of the group gives them to act on their remaining freedoms.

Imagine three men in a valley with only two women. Both women are with the big strong alpha male. Now the mateless males are 'free' to pursue both women but this is irrelevant because neither can defeat the alpha. One day the mateless males team up and are collectively able to eliminate the alpha. Each male gives up the freedom to pursue both females, for the power of the collective has given them to procure a single mate, where before they had none.

So while anarchy is technically the maximum freedom of choice, the power of society makes a reduced set of choices more meaningful. Because the remaining freedoms are more meaningful, many think of this as having more freedom.

Answer 5

An anarchy is an "Absence of government; a state of lawlessness due to the absence or inefficiency of the supreme power; political disorder," while a liberty is "generally considered a concept of political philosophy and identifies the condition in which an individual has the ability to act according to his or her own will." All B.S. aside, for liberty to remain it needs distribution of powers, like a government with rules. Else it develops into an anarchy.

Answer 6

The definition of anarchy is the absence of government authority or law.
Liberty is defined as the act of behaving as one chooses.
I would say then that anarchy would mean the government does not exist or have control, but it does not mean others are not controlling.
Liberty would then be that one has freedom to choose. It does not say if you choose wrong there would be no consequences.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

Anarchy was explained this way, it is "government" by "common sense" -- problem is, common sense tells some people that killing a man for talking with his wife is acceptable.

And, right now, "freedom" in America means the freedom to do as your told

Answer 9

Your definitions are not opposites. Freedom is not the opposite of "no rules". And anarchy means breaking rules that exist.
Freedom is a vague term - you need to be more specific.

Answer 10

Because anarchy leads to the tyranny of the strong over the weak.