The Floor of Freedom
On stability and the pursuit of happiness
How might government set its citizens free?
Let us assume the purpose of a good one is to maximize freedom. The next question, then, is how it should be realized. Since enforcing freedom here could mean taking it there, that is not simple.
We need clear boundaries.
It starts with preserving freedom.
Freedom must be protected against infringement. Hence, citizens cannot be allowed to infringe upon each other's freedom. And the same goes for government.
That is the first boundary.
It covers the duty to respect and protect.
Respect means the government may not infringe upon freedom. Protection means it must keep citizens from doing the same. There is a third duty, however: the fulfilment of freedom.
Fulfillment means to prevent freedom from being eroded by the natural world. Because alleviating poverty sets citizens significantly freer.
It has a legitimate place.
The three duties, respect, protect, and fulfil, have directional qualities.
Respect implies no oppression from above. Protection implies no infringement from equals. And fulfilment implies preventing citizens from sinking through the floor.
Each covers its own domain.
But fulfilment remains the biggest puzzle.
It requires a distinction between necessary help and overkill. To remain free, there must be a minimal ground beneath which citizens cannot fall. We might call it a floor of freedom.
This idea corresponds to the necessary conditions for meaningful agency: not to win at life, just to be able to play the game.
Because need erodes freedom.
Hunger, cold, and disease are barriers. They cripple citizens in their pursuit of happiness. Hence, there might be a legitimate role for government in its alleviation.
The floor of freedom describes the minimal conditions government should provide to guarantee participation in society.
There is a limit to fulfilling freedom.
It should be fulfilled up to the floor, but never beyond it.
The fulfilment of need ends where abundance begins. Comfort, leisure, and luxury extend beyond the floor of freedom. They cannot be guaranteed; only hard-won.
This way, government ensures an equal playing field, but not victory itself.
Herein lies a basic framework for liberal government.
If freedom is the anchor point, its maximization should be the ultimate aim. To achieve that, the government must respect and protect it. But it conceivably must fulfil it.
Without nourishment, a starved prisoner will not go far - even if you open his cage.