Structure & Negative Liberty

Many political scandals - from our present Tory access selling to the Edwardian cash for peerages - involve situations where those involved believe that there will be little or no repercussions to their actions.

But sometimes things are not so simple. Particularly when 'buying access' and 'lobbying and dinner' seem so similar. Yet concerns are dismissed as part of the way things are done (BBC, 2012).

How can those on the inside make such clear distinctions between situations so alike, that from the outside appear indistinguishable?

At the heart of this matter is the struggle between structure & agency. In essence, this refers to attempts to delimit just how much agency, the free action of an individual is possible within a society's structure (King, 2005).

In this case the agent, be it a politician or lobbyist, might be seen to be bound within a certain set of customs - where a failure to comply would lead to negative consequences such as policy heading in an unfavourable direction.

It is just such circumstances that make those who favour negative liberty, such as many American libertarians, to view governance with a wary eye. Through championing negative liberty, they seek to remove obstacles that might prevent an individual from doing 'those things which by his strength and wit he is able to do' (Hobbes, 1651).

Such a libertarian position seeks the removal of much of the structure that surrounds individuals in order to encourage circumstances where people are free to make their own decisions - on the merits of the decision itself rather than holding account to preconceived trends or prevailing opinions.

But such personal awareness and agency would be no easy task. Particularly since deconstruction would require the tearing down of many institutions that support resources vital to a society and the self awareness required for rational choices - institutions such as education & healthcare systems.

So while 'the way things are done' attitudes must be challenged, we must be wary not to 'throw the baby out with the bathwater'.

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References:
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+ BBC's 'Lobbyist Mark Adams on Peter Cruddas and cash for access'; 26 March 2012.

+ Anthony King's 'Structure and Agency'; in Austin Harrington's 'Modern Social Theory: An Introduction'; Oxford, 2005.

+ Thomas Hobbes' 'Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil'; 1651.