What is the Difference between the Negative and Positive Conception of Liberty?

Difference between the Negative and Positive Conception of Liberty

Liberty is an important privilege for an individual living in a society, but the existence of both positive and negative forms of liberty is equally important in a civilized society.

• Liberty is another word for freedom; freedom without control may lead to negative consequences.
• According to the modern definition of liberty, it is the position to stay freely in a society without any control over or restrictions forced by any authority on an individual’s way of life or their opinions on various social and political matters.

The major difference between the Negative and Positive Conception of Liberty is given below.

Negative Liberty	Positive Liberty
Freedom with zero external interference.	Freedom with certain restraints from the society/government.
Concerns are those areas or domains of an individual’s life that should not be violated.	Concerned more with the social behavior of an individual.
Related to the idea of ‘freedom from’.	More related to the idea of ‘freedom to’.
More negative liberty results in more freedom.	More positive liberty examines the excess of freedom to a person.
Does not relate to society’s conditions.	Relates a lot more to society’s conditions.

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