Question 3:
What is meant by social constraints? Are constraints of any kind necessary for enjoying freedom?
Answers
ANSWER :
Freedom does not mean the absence of restraints. Freedom can be enjoyed only in the present social constraints. According to M.Kechni, “Freedom is not the restraints,but rather the substitution of rational ones for irrational.” According to Laski , “Liberty means the absence of restraints upon the existence of these social conditions which in modern Civilization are the necessary guarantee of individual happiness.” Social constraints are not always again Liberty. Reasonable constraints are the safeguards of Liberty. Only the reasonable restrictions curb the Liberty. Social constraints must be there if we are to live together in a society. Man is a social animal but man is selfish also. There must be social constraints to regulate the conduct. Deepa Mehta filmmaker was interested in making film on the conditions of widows of Varanasi. However she was not allowed because there was a strong protest from a section of the polity who felt that it would bring bad name to India. The film, The Last Temptation of Christ and the play, Me Nathuram Boltey, were also banned after protests.
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Social constraints means restrictions or compulsions imposed by society, these constraints are backed by organised social authoirty. They restrict our freedom in ways that are difficult to fight against.
Necessity of constrainsts for enjoyment of Freedom :
(i)Scholar like Voltaire of France disapproves any kind of constraint for full enjoyment of freedom. He was committted to unrestricted freedom of expression on the other hand there are several sections or groups of different communities which want to ban on films, books, plays and even academic articles in research journals.
(ii)Banning is an easy solution for the short term since it meets the immediate demand but is very harmful for the long–term prospects of freedom in a society because once one begins to bar then one develops a habit of banning.