Freedom and Sharing in the Global Network Society

Abstract

This article focuses on some ideas from social and political philosophy concerning the ideal of freedom that may be useful for thinking about issues associated with the rise of network societies. The tendency for ‘freedom’ to mean very different things to different people has carried over to the context of thinking about issues associated with new technologies and network societies. This elasticity needs to be managed if ‘freedom’ is to do useful work in substantive debate about the issues that arise. This article considers three analytic tools that seem applicable to issues arising under the contemporary condition of network societies. They are, respectively, the ‘opportunity—exercise’ analysis of ‘freedom’, the ‘positive—negative freedom’ distinction, and the ‘triadic relation’ analysis of freedom. Each is discussed by reference to familiar current issues.