Societal Issue You Selected. Then Explain How

¶ … societal issue you selected. Then explain how and why the issue represents an infringement on people's liberty, using information you have learned about liberty and its relationship to personal freedom. Finally, describe what factors you would consider when determining how to address liberty infringements.

Liberty: Positive and negative liberty

Two concepts of liberty exist: that of positive and negative liberty. Within the concept of negative liberty, the focus is on the absence of constraints of the subject. In the case of positive liberty, society supports the free choice of agents through positive actions. "On the other hand, one can think of liberty as the presence of control on the part of the agent. To be free, you must be self-determined, which is to say that you must be able to control your own destiny in your own interests" (Carter 2012). An excellent example of this can be seen in the recent healthcare debate. Advocates of a position of negative liberty stress the overall negatives of 'forcing' people to buy health insurance. People should have a choice, in their view, about how they spend their money. If people want to take a risk to not buy health insurance, risk medical bankruptcy, and use the emergency room as their primary care facility that is their 'choice.' Citizens may even be seen as making a 'choice' not to seek out employment which provides them with insurance.

Conversely, taking a positive view of liberty, the fact that people do not have health insurance limits their choice. It may force someone to take an additional job he or she does not want, simply to get health insurance. If this is not feasible, he or she may be forced to buy health insurance on the open market or do without. The 'choice' of having health insurance is only open to the very young and healthy, without preexisting conditions like diabetes. The refusal of some Americans to buy insurance keeps the price of premiums very high for all consumers. Upward trends in healthcare spending are intensified when people do not have insurance and use the emergency room as their primary care facility, where they cannot be turned away. People without insurance are less likely to get preventative screening for illnesses, and only seek treatment when their condition has worsened and is more costly to treat.