10 Positive Freedom Examples

Positive Freedom Examples. Positive freedom refers to the capacity of individuals to have the power and resources to pursue their goals and make choices in their lives. It goes beyond the absence of constraints and is often associated with the availability of opportunities and the enhancement of capabilities.

Here are ten examples of positive freedom:

1. Access to Education: Providing free and quality education ensures that individuals have the knowledge and skills to pursue their interests and improve their lives.
2. Healthcare for All: Universal healthcare ensures that individuals have the physical and mental well-being to participate fully in society.
3. Employment Opportunities: A robust job market with diverse opportunities allows individuals to choose meaningful work and achieve financial independence.
4. Freedom of Expression: Protecting freedom of speech enables individuals to voice their opinions, ideas, and creativity without fear of censorship or repression.
5. Gender Equality: Promoting gender equality ensures that all individuals have the same opportunities and rights, regardless of their gender.
6. Internet Access: Broad and affordable internet access empowers individuals to access information, education, and opportunities online.
7. Affordable Housing: Access to affordable housing provides stability and security, enabling individuals to build a better life for themselves and their families.
8. Political Participation: Ensuring free and fair elections and encouraging civic engagement allows individuals to have a say in their governance and decision-making processes.
9. Social Support Systems: Strong social safety nets and support systems help individuals overcome challenges and maintain their dignity during difficult times.
10. Cultural and Religious Freedom: Respecting cultural and religious diversity allows individuals to practice their beliefs and express their identities without discrimination.

These examples represent just a few aspects of positive freedom, and many other factors contribute to creating a society that fosters individual flourishing and empowerment.

Now, that we have given you the contrast, we will give you some examples of positive freedom where sometimes we will also name negative freedom, since they are complementary terms to understand the demonstrations that we will share with you:

Examples of Positive Freedom.

1. If you decide to eat a sandwich, then you definitely and absolutely can eat it, because you also absolutely and negatively decide not to eat it, for this reason you are having a positive freedom.
2. A farm worker from Bangladesh decided to go to work at the Nike factory. Here he has a negative freedom, which probably does not become a positive freedom. They will say that it will not be because of his relatively bad conditions, and some will even add that he is now working in a factory and has a low degree of freedom. This is ridiculous: the number of important options he has has increased, not decreased. Before rice grows or dies. Now, he either grows rice, works for Nike, or he’s dying. This is an improvement.
3. One person fell into a deep ditch and was unable to get out. This is a negative freedom. No one stopped him from getting out of the hole, but his set of options was basically limited to sitting or standing waiting for him to die, trying to scream to get others’ attention, or lying down and looking at the sky.
4. Who is freer: a genetically more intelligent person or a person of average intelligence? They will be equally passive and free, but intelligent people will have a much more positive freedom.
5. Who is freer: a person in a ditch or another person in a luxurious prison? For the defender of negative freedom, the person in the ditch is freer, while for the person who supports positive freedom, the prisoner will be freer, because there are more possibilities in front of him, even if he cannot leave the prison than surrounds it.