PYQ Vault · Paper 1 · Marx, Gramsci & Arendt

Differentiate between Freedom and Liberty. Discuss Marx’s notion of freedom.

How the answer moves

The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.

Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes

Route 1 terms used interchangeably Marx gives them a distinct edge liberty = liberal non-interference (Mill)

Route 2 liberty = freedom from external restraint, negative Marx prefers “freedom,” deeper and social real freedom is more than being left alone

Body flow

liberal liberty: being left alone, Mill Marx prefers freedom, liberty tied to liberalism bourgeois liberty partial: isolated individual, civil-political not socio-economic equality, bound up with alienation Marx’s freedom: not isolation, social, in community “freedom from necessities,” necessity + alienation reduced natural needs connect people, common good not a sum labour as “a liberating activity,” ruined by capitalism Walicki: unfettered self-realisation, fewer constraints + positive conditions conditions: abolish private property + wage-labour, shorter labour time

Counter-view

liberal defence: liberty as non-interference + formal equality guards the individual vs Marx’s social freedom as collective and condition-dependent

Conclusion routes

Route 1 freedom realised collectively Engels: kingdom of necessity kingdom of freedom

Route 2 Marx redefines freedom: from non-interference to self-realisation “free development of each = free development of all”

Model answer

Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.

Handwritten model answer — UPSC PSIR 2017, Marx, Gramsci & Arendt