Analysis Of Katherine Mangu-Ward: The Gardens Of Democracy
1914 Words8 Pages
The United States of America is the land of the free, the land of opportunity, the wealthiest country in the world, and a country that half the modern world is modeled after, yet America still faces the fundamental political conflict in today’s society between individualism and collectivism. Does the individual’s life belong to him—or does it belong to the group, the community, society, or the state? Katherine Mangu-Ward, the author of “The War Against Negative Liberty “ and Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer, the authors of, “The Gardens of Democracy” have very different visions of good American Citizens, although America should follow Katherine Mangu-Ward on her conservative individualism root. In our time of increasingly intrusive government actions,…show more content… With degrees in both political science and philosophy from Yale, Mangu-Ward has significant insight on the political structure in the United Sates. The author’s viewpoint is one that is shared by many Americans today, especially in conservative and libertarian circles. In “The War on Negative Liberty”, Mangu-Ward calls upon her philosophy and political backgrounds when she references British philosopher Isaiah Berlin who breaks freedom down into two types: negative and positive liberty. “Negative liberty, or ‘freedom from,’ hinges on the idea of noninterference,” and, “Positive liberty is the freedom to fulfill your potential” (661). Being an advocate for negative liberty herself, Ward uses examples of the government stripping basic lifestyle choices away from Americans. For example, Ward analyzes the bizarre spectacle of Americans asking the government to strip them of lifestyle choices like smoking or consuming trans fats. The government even wishes to impose punitive taxes on these things (663). Ward believes that we as Americans have the right to make our own decisions, especially something as simple as…show more content… The government should not have that much control over your life. In the article “The War Against Negative Liberty”, Ward mentions the issue in New York with the banning of cigarettes (662). Hypothetically, imagine if this scenario was put into effect. I think that the government is over stepping its boundaries by telling society what they can or cannot do with their health. Liberals like to use the excuse that it takes the lives hundreds of thousands of Americans a year, but they neglect to mention the millions of babies’ lives that are taken by abortion, which they support by advocating the “pro-choice” campaign. I find it hypocritical that many liberals in America preach one thing, but there actions show the complete opposite. Whatever people choose, they should be entitled to that. Every human being has a right to property, life, and liberty. Denying an individual the right to do as they please with their own body is an infringement on both the right to liberty and the right to property. Naomi Wolf, the author of an article called “Freedom is Intended as a Challenge” is a huge believer that our jobs as Americans is to defend our freedom (631). For example, she goes on to say that Americans have a “sacred obligation to take the most serious possible steps and undergo the most serious kinds of personal risks in defense of this freedom this is your natural right and you must rise up against those who seek