Q.1 What does Nelson Mandela’s autobiography “Long Walk to Freedom” focus on?
Answer: It focuses on Mandela’s struggle against apartheid, the hardships faced by black people in South Africa, and the efforts to achieve freedom for all citizens.

Q.2 Why did Nelson Mandela spend 27 years in jail?
Answer: Mandela spent 27 years in jail for campaigning against apartheid and fighting for the freedom of South Africans, including black, coloured, and white people.

Q.3 What is the significance of Aung San Suu Kyi’s book “Freedom from Fear”?
Answer: The book emphasizes that real freedom is freedom from fear, which is essential for living a dignified human life without being afraid of authority or societal opinions.

Q.4 How did Aung San Suu Kyi sacrifice her personal life?
Answer: Aung San Suu Kyi was separated from her children and could not visit her dying husband due to her commitment to staying in Myanmar for her people’s freedom.

What is Freedom?

Q.1 What is freedom?
Answer: Freedom is the absence of constraints and the presence of conditions that allow individuals to express themselves and develop their potential.

Q.2 Why is the absence of constraints only one aspect of freedom?
Answer: Besides the absence of constraints, freedom includes creating conditions for individuals to develop creativity, capabilities, and achieve their potential.

Q.3 What does a free society enable?
Answer: A free society enables its members to develop their potential and pursue their interests with minimum social constraints.

Q.4 What is the positive dimension of freedom?
Answer: The positive dimension of freedom focuses on providing opportunities for individuals to grow, express themselves, and achieve their potential in various fields, fostering their overall development.

Q.5 What does the term ‘Swaraj’ mean?
Answer: Swaraj means ‘self-rule’ or ‘rule over self,’ encompassing both individual self-respect and collective freedom.

Q.6 What principle guided Gandhiji’s concept of Swaraj?
Answer: Gandhiji’s Swaraj was guided by the principle of justice, aimed at liberating individual and collective potentialities.

Q.7 Why is Gandhiji’s concept of Swaraj still relevant today?
Answer: Gandhiji’s Swaraj emphasizes justice, self-realization, and collective development, which remain critical for societal progress even in the 21st century.

Q.8 What kind of relationship is there between the freedom for the individual and the freedom for the nation?

Answer:- (i) Individual freedom allows people to express their views, innovate, and contribute to society, which in turn strengthens the nation’s progress.

(ii) National freedom provides the legal and political structure that protects individual rights, allowing people to live freely and contribute positively to the nation’s growth.

The Sources of Constraints:-

Q.1 What are the two main sources of restrictions on freedom?
Answer: Restrictions on freedom can arise from external domination or laws enforced by rulers and from social inequalities like caste and economic disparity within society.

Q.2 Why is democratic government important for protecting freedom?
Answer: A democratic government is important because it allows citizens to retain control over their rulers, ensuring that laws and policies do not suppress individual freedom unfairly.

Q.3 What is meant by social constraints?

Answer:- Social constraints are limitations set by society’s norms, culture, or values that influence individual behavior and maintain social order.

Why do we need constraints?

Q.1 Why are constraints necessary in society?
Answer: Constraints are necessary to prevent chaos, resolve conflicts, and ensure respect for differing views and beliefs. They help maintain order and protect individuals from coercion or violence.

Q.2 How can disagreements in society lead to conflict?
Answer: Disagreements over ideas, ambitions, or scarce resources can escalate into open conflicts, resulting in violence, such as road rage, disputes over parking or land, and disagreements about cultural issues.

Q.3 What role does tolerance play in a free society?
Answer: Tolerance ensures respect for differing views, allowing people to hold and express their beliefs without coercion or harassment, thereby fostering peaceful coexistence.

Q.4 What does modern liberalism prioritize over other values?
Answer: Modern liberalism prioritizes individual liberty over values like equality and is skeptical of excessive political authority.

Q.5 How has the focus of liberalism evolved over time?
Answer: Historically, liberalism emphasized free markets and limited government intervention. Modern liberalism, however, supports welfare measures and reducing social and economic inequalities.

Harm Principle:-

Q.1 What is John Stuart Mill’s ‘harm principle’?
Answer: Mill’s harm principle states that the only justifiable reason for interfering with an individual’s liberty is self-protection or to prevent harm to others.

Q.2 How does Mill distinguish between ‘self-regarding’ and ‘other-regarding’ actions?
Answer: Self-regarding actions affect only the individual performing them and should not involve external interference. Other-regarding actions impact others and may justify external interference to prevent harm.

Q.3 When should the state not interfere with individual actions, according to Mill?
Answer: The state should not interfere in self-regarding actions that have no consequences for others, as these are personal matters.

Q.4 When does Mill suggest that only social disapproval is appropriate instead of legal action?
Answer: Social disapproval is appropriate for minor harm, such as playing loud music, where legal interference is unnecessary.

Q.5 What are ‘reasonable restrictions’ in the context of freedom?
Answer: Reasonable restrictions are constraints that are justifiable, not excessive, and proportionate to the action being restricted, ensuring they do not destroy freedom itself.

Negative and Positive Liberty:-

Q.1 What are the two dimensions of freedom ?

Answer:- The two dimensions of freedom are negative liberty (freedom as the absence of external constraints) and positive liberty (freedom as the expansion of opportunities to express oneself).

Q.2 What is the main focus of negative liberty?
Answer: Negative liberty focuses on defining and defending an inviolable area of non-interference, where individuals can act freely without external constraints.

Q.3 What question does negative liberty seek to answer?
Answer: Negative liberty seeks to answer the question: “Over what area am I the master?”

Q.4 What is the central question addressed by positive liberty?
Answer: Positive liberty addresses the question: “Who governs me?” with the ideal answer being, “I govern myself.”

Q.5 Define Negative Liberty?

Answer:- It means freedom from interference. It focuses on having a private space where no one, like the government or society, can stop you from doing what you want. Negative liberty is about “no one stopping you”

Q.6 Define Positive Liberty?

Answer:- It means freedom to grow. It focuses on creating opportunities and conditions, like education and resources, that help you achieve your full potential. Positive liberty is about “having the support to succeed.”

Freedom of Expression:-

Q.1 Why should freedom of expression not be restricted?
Answer:- Freedom of expression is a fundamental right, and society must protect it even if it causes some inconvenience. Limiting this freedom through censorship or banning can harm society’s long-term prospects for freedom.

Q.2 What is the consequence of banning things like books, films, or plays?
Answer:- Banning books, films, or plays may solve immediate issues but can harm the long-term freedom in society. It creates a habit of banning, restricting creative expression and freedom, even if it’s done for moral or cultural reasons.

Q.3 When should we accept constraints on our freedom of expression?
Answer:- We should accept constraints when they are self-imposed for specific goals or ambitions. However, if we are coerced or forced into restrictions, it limits our freedom. These constraints must be justifiable and should not be imposed by external authorities.

Q.4 Why does John Stuart Mill argue that suppressing ideas could be harmful?
Answer:- Suppressing ideas could prevent society from benefiting from valuable knowledge that might turn out to be true later. Ideas that seem false today may contain elements of truth that are crucial for progress.
Q.5 How does John Stuart Mill believe truth emerges?
Answer:- Mill believes that truth emerges through the conflict of opposing views, where ideas that seem wrong today can lead to the development of the right ideas over time.