Alternatives to Freedom: Arguments and Opinions

by William L. Miller, Arnold Kemp

Overview

This authoritative text concerns itself with freedom and ‘alternatives to freedom', based on original survey research of public attitudes to civil and political rights.It combines and connects explicit and implicit arguments for freedom, with the judgements of public opinion on two levels the general public and politicians encouraging the reader to think about issues both in terms of political theory and public opinion.The issues considered, all of which may be viewed as alternatives to the narrow conception of freedom as the absence of coercion, are: parliamentary sovereignty the national interest responsibility accountability equality the moral communityAlternate chapters present powerful arguments from political figures such as Lord Armstrong, Lord Jenkins and Roy Hattersley, based on practical experience, and then assess public opinion for each issue.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138436107
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/28/2017
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Alternative values, William L. Miller.

Part 1 Freedom versus Parliament:
Argument - the case for a people's Bill of Rights,Lord Jenkins of Hillhead
Opinions - public opposition to Parliamentary sovereignty, William L. Miller, Annis May Timpson, Michael Lessnoff.

Part 2 Freedom versus the national interest:
Argument - the case for confidentiality in government,Lord Armstrong of Ilminster.
Opinions - public support for secrecy, William L. Miller, Annis May Timpson, Michael Lessnoff.

Part 3 Freedom versus responsibility.
Witness - the dangers of press power without responsibility, Fedor Burlatsky.
Opinions - public support for press censorship,William L. Miller, Annis May Timpson, Michael Lessnoff.

Part 4 Freedom versus accountability.
Witness - a media war of independence, Elemer Hankiss.
Opinions - public opposition to government control of the media, William L. Miller, Annis May Timpson, Michael Lessnoff.

Part 5 Freedom versus equality.
Argument- through equality to liberty, Roy Hattersley.
Opinions - public support for equality, William L. Miller et al.

Part 6 Freedom versus the moral community:
Argument - defining deviancy down, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Opinions - public tolerance of private freedom, William L. Miller, Annis May Timpson, Michael Lessnoff.
Conclusion: culture and constitution in conflict? William L. Miller.

Editorial Reviews

'This is a genuinely original and thought-provoking work. The idea of having politicians and others present arguments about freedom, democracy and other abstract political ideas, and then examining relevant opinions among voters and local politicians succeeds admirably...It also provides much food for thought about the nature of democracy in modern Britain. This is altogether a splendid piece of work'

David Denver, University of Lancaster

From the Publisher