Which one of the following reflects the most appropriate relationship between law and liberty?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) If there are no laws, there is no liberty.
Law and liberty go together: without laws, nobody's freedom is protected from the coercion of others, so there is no real liberty. Law restrains harmful acts and thereby secures the freedom of everyone.
- ✓ (b) Political theory treats law as a support for freedom: legal restraints are needed so that one group cannot coercively impose its views on another, and law protects each person's freedom.
- ✗ (a) This treats law as the enemy of liberty. Only unnecessary or unjustified constraints reduce freedom; the test is whether a restriction is necessary and justified, not how many laws exist.
- ✗ (c) Laws being made by the people is a feature of democratic government and positive liberty, but it does not describe the basic relationship between law and liberty.
Remember · Law and liberty are not opposites: laws protect liberty. Where there is no law, the strong dominate and there is no liberty for others.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Political Theory, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 Political Theory, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 11 · Political Theory, Chapter 2 “we need some legal and political restraints to ensure that differences may be discussed and debated without one group coercively imposing its views on the other.”
- NCERT Class 11 · Political Theory, Chapter 2 “we may want stronger support from law to ensure that my freedom is protected.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·