In the context of polity, which one of the following would you accept as the most appropriate definition of liberty?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) Opportunity to develop oneself fully
Liberty is best understood as the chance to develop one's talents and potential to the full, within reasonable social limits. Merely having no restraint is only one side of freedom, and no one can have unlimited freedom in society.
- ✓ (d) NCERT describes freedom as the condition in which people can develop their creativity and capabilities, and a free society as one that lets all its members develop their potential with the minimum of social constraints.
- ✗ (b) Absence of restraint is what NCERT calls only one aspect of freedom (negative liberty); it leaves out the conditions needed to develop oneself.
- ✗ (c) No individual living in society can enjoy a total absence of constraints, so doing whatever one likes cannot be the definition of liberty.
- ✗ (a) Protection from rulers' tyranny is one purpose of liberty, but it is narrower than the full idea, which also covers the opportunity to develop oneself.
Remember · Liberty has two sides: freedom from unjustified constraints (negative) and freedom to develop one's potential (positive). The fullest definition stresses the opportunity to develop oneself.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Political Theory, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · 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 “Freedom in this sense is the condition in which people can develop their creativity and capabilities.”
- NCERT Class 11 · Political Theory, Chapter 2 “No individual living in society can hope to enjoy total absence of any kind of constraints or restrictions.”
- NCERT Class 11 · Political Theory, Chapter 2 “Thus far we have defined freedom as the absence of constraint. To be free means to reduce or minimise social constraints that limit our ability to make choices freely. However, this is only one aspect of freedom.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·