Presentation

The rest of Part I of this study completes the reasons and presents the sequence of implications that lead to the structure of global or overall distribution analyzed in Part II. There will be two kinds of items: social freedom and resources.

Social freedom means that there is no relation of force among individuals, including when they act in groups or in institutions. This indeed amounts to each individual being free from any other individual's forceful interference. This freedom is thus defined by (or as) a type of social relation, rather than a priori by a domain of possible choice or action – hence the adjective “social.” Social freedom also means that all individuals agree about what is done, although an individual may have to buy others' acts or others' agreements to her acts, in exchange for something. The respect of others includes that of the intended consequences of their acts, and hence of rights obtained in previous free actions or exchanges. Social freedom is commonly considered under two forms: the classical “basic rights” or “basic freedoms” (which are the basis of “democratic” constitutions), and the theory of free exchanges and the resulting property (notably through markets) approved of by “process liberalism.” We will see that social freedom can notably be justified as unanimously desired, given the relevant desires and possible uses of this liberty (this chapter and, particularly, Chapter 4).