Sabine Döring

Freedom and solidarity are often portrayed as opposing values. I argue that this tension is only apparent. Individual freedom depends on shared conditions that individuals cannot secure on their own—such as the rule of law, security, and knowledge as a prerequisite for informed self-determination. These conditions can be understood as public goods: they make freedom possible in the first place and, at the same time, form the link between freedom and the common good. State intervention is thus justified as a freedom-enabling restriction of freedom: but only where its necessity can be demonstrated and where it is limited to what is strictly required. The burden of proof rests with the state, and the legitimacy of its actions depends on meeting this standard.