Freedom Quotes

"Coercion for distributive purposes treats people as means to others' ends."

"Free market transactions respect the autonomy of all parties."

"Each person is sovereign over their own life and labor."

"Rights are natural and inalienable, not granted by the state."

"Personal liberty is a fundamental human value."

"Freedom from coercion is a prerequisite for human flourishing."

"People own themselves and therefore own their labor."

"Forced redistribution is incompatible with justice."

"Autonomy is a core moral value that deserves protection."

"Liberty is valuable both instrumentally and intrinsically."

"Persons have a right to their own lives and efforts."

"Freedom is a precondition for moral responsibility."

"A human being who cannot function as an independent practical reasoner is cut off from the possibility of flourishing."

"To abandon tradition is to be left with only the arbitrary choices of the will."

"Traditions are not constraints on human freedom but the very condition of meaningful freedom."

"Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does."

"Freedom is not the absence of constraints but the ability to choose among them."

"We are condemned to be free, and this freedom terrifies and exhilarates us."

"Freedom requires both the capacity to act and the recognition of limits."

"Authentic existence requires acknowledging our radical freedom and responsibility."

"Freedom is not unlimited; it is always situated in a context of constraints."

"Freedom as the basis for self-respect is perhaps the most important primary good."

"All citizens are free and equal citizens in a society governed by fair terms of cooperation."

"Liberty has priority over equality in a well-ordered society."

"Each citizen has an equal right to the most extensive basic liberties compatible with similar liberties for all."

"The original position represents a situation of equality among free moral agents."

"Equal political rights protect citizens from domination by others."

"The basic liberties protect individuals' capacity to develop and pursue their conceptions of the good."

"The capacity to form and revise a conception of the good is essential to being a citizen."

"Liberty of conscience cannot be limited for reasons of social utility or majority preference."