The paradox of freedom?
自由的悖论？
“Sirens weaving a haunting song … yet she urged that I alone should listen to their song. Therefore you are to tie me up, tight as a splint … and if I shout and beg to be untied, take more turns of the rope to muffle me”
(The Odyssey, a translation by Robert Fitzgerald)
Berlin 1969 observed that the positive and negative conceptions of freedom seemed to ultimately conflict. Suppose positive freedom implies a mastery over unbridled passion and weakness of will which would otherwise prevent a person from attaining the goals that she has reason to value. Might this then legitimise paternalistic policies that purport to “assist” an individual achieve positive freedom? The Australian government‘s recent proposal to ban access to social media by minors is an example of such paternalism. However, such a policy seem to be a violation of a person’s negative freedom to be free of interference from others.
This conflict seems paradoxical because, according to Berlin, the positive and negative conceptions of freedom are just different ways of conceptualising the same thing - i.e., freedom. The origin of this “paradox" is perhaps due to an acknowledgement that not all external “interference” is a violation of negative freedoms. A rule prohibiting driving when drunk is not a violation of negative freedom because a drunk driver would interfere with his own (as well as other people’s) freedom to drive safely. The freedom to drive around safely is achieved by being prevented from driving while intoxicated. The freedom to hear the Sirens’ song entails being tied up and restrained.
“塞壬（Sirens）编织着一首令人难忘的歌 … 但她却催促我一个人听他们的歌。因此，你必要把我绑得像夹板一样紧 … 如果我大喊大叫，乞求解开，就多缠几圈绳子把我闷住”
（《奥德赛》（Odyssey），罗伯特.菲茨拉德（Robert Fitzgerald）译）
柏林1969观察到，自由的积极和消极概念似乎最终相互冲击。假设积极自由意味着克服无节制的激情和意志薄弱，否则会阻止一个人实现她有理由重视的目标。那么，这是否会使那些声称“协助”个人实现积极自由的家长式政策合法化？澳大利亚政府最近提出的禁止未成年人访问社交媒体的提议就是这种家长式作风的一个例子。然而，这种政策似乎侵犯了一个人无干扰的消极自由。
这种冲突似乎是自相矛盾的，因为根据柏林的说法，自由的积极和消极自由概念只是对同一事物（即自由）的不同概念化方式。这种“悖论”的起源或许是承认并非所有外部“干扰”都是对消极自由的侵犯。禁止酒后驾车的规定并不违反\消极自由，因为醉酒驾驶会干扰自己（以及他人）安全驾驶的自由。安全驾驶的自由是通过防止醉酒驾驶来实现的。聆听塞壬之歌的自由涉及被捆绑和约束。