Civil Liberties

A concept that has been much debated and is often discussed against the backdrop of civil rights. Though scholars have attempted to make a distinction between the two, the divisions are still quite vague and unclear. Therefore, civil liberties cannot be discussed as a finite definition but rather as a set of premises.

All contemporary discourse on civil liberties dates back to J. S. Mill's “On Liberty.” Civil liberties cannot be thought of in terms of specific laws and statutes. Rather, civil liberties are ideologies that one believes ought to be valued and respected. Transience characterizes these ideologies. Civil liberties are individual or group conceptions restricted to the immediate historical atmosphere accounting for the social, political, economic, and cultural period. Civil liberties are a matter of what individuals or groups decide for themselves regardless of the reason for which they do so. The positions that these individuals and groups take are a matter of predilection, and the hierarchical structure of civil liberties is determined by a calculation of utility. When such a liberty becomes a legally recognized right, it then becomes a civil right, though it still retains its status as a civil liberty. For more information, see Cohen (1988–1989) and Mill (1859/1989).