Liberty as absence of restraint is, however, a merely negative thing; it
is a "being let alone." Some great writers, John Stuart Mill for
example, treat it as though it had only this negative character, and as
though to be let alone were necessarily and in itself a good thing. But
others have truly and forcefully shown, first, that to be let alone may
sometimes be a doubtful blessing, and, secondly, that liberty has a
further and positive aspect not less important than the negative. Sir J.
F. Stephen, in his _Liberty, Equality, Fraternity_, vigorously
criticizes Mill's negative theory. Matthew Arnold in _Culture and
Anarchy_ (a work which well repays perusal at the present time) pours
delightful but destructive ridicule upon "our prevalent notion that it
is a most happy and important thing for a man merely to be able to do as
he likes." Thomas Carlyle, in _Past and Present_ and elsewhere,
vehemently expounds a positive ideal of liberty which involves strenuous
work for the good of man and for social advancement. "If liberty be not
that," he concludes, "I for one have small care about liberty." But
first in eminence among the exponents of the positive aspect of liberty
stands Thomas Hill Green, of Oxford. In his works he contends that
liberty is more than absence of restraint, just as beauty is more than
absence of ugliness.[38] He holds that it includes also "a positive
power or capacity of doing or enjoying something worth doing or
enjoying." He agrees with Mazzini that complete freedom is "found only
in that satisfying fulfilment of civic duties to which rights, however
precious, are but the vestibule."[39] He looks at freedom, that is to
say, from the communal and not from the individual point of view. Man is
a political animal, and only in an organized society can he attain his
highest development. It is not good for man to be alone; each individual
needs the companionship and co-operation of his fellows; no one in
solitude can attain even to self-realization. Hence, government is more
than a restraining power; it is also an organizing power. It not only
prevents its subjects from injuring one another; it places them where
they can most effectively aid one another and work together for the
common weal. It frees their faculties from the impotence of isolation,
and opens up to them the unbounded possibilities of corporate activity.
Hence, liberty on its positive side becomes merged in national service,
in the broa