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Editorial

The Politics of Freedom

by Rick Lewis

“The subject of this Essay is not the so-called Liberty of the Will, so unfortunately opposed to the misnamed doctrine of Philosophical Necessity; but Civil, or Social Liberty: the nature and limits of the power which can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual.”

With these words, John Stuart Mill began his famous 1859 essay On Liberty. As it happens, they also apply to the magazine you are holding, for this issue’s theme is the politics of freedom. We have gathered five articles on subjects connected with civil or social liberty, and we hope you find them thought-provoking even if you do not agree with them.

We’ll start off with a brief history of freedom and state intervention since the Age of Enlightenment.

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