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ePaper created 2014-11-09, 13:16:45 | version 1.33.00
Reproduced by Australian Atatürk Cultural Centre Inc. 6 All rights stem from the individual. This is because man is the only truly free animate being who can take on responsibility (…) Further, it is both natural and necessary for people to have social and political institutions (…) The primary right of the individual is freedom to develop his natural talents. The most practical way of ensuring progress is by letting the individual lead and control himself, provided he does not harm others and by making him personally responsible for any risk he takes. Ensuring unrestricted development as outlined above is the sole objective of the various freedoms stemming from the rights of the individual. A political society, which does not respect these rights, fails in the fulfilment of its essential functions and the existence of the state loses its purpose and meaning (...). The freedom in question belongs to social and civilised man. Consequently, when the freedom of the individual is under consideration, the common interests of the individual and the whole nation as well as the entity of the state must be borne in mind. In this respect it is the duty of the state to restrict freedom. The state assumes this responsibility with the sole purpose of uniting all private activities in order to achieve common and national goals. The statement "Freedom is any action which does not harm others" implies that the freedom of the citizen aspires to this end and that the state is regarded as an instrument for attaining this objective. It is this instrument, however, which safeguards the general interests and goals of the nation. Therefore, when the scope of other peoples’ freedom is indicated as the limit of the freedom of the individual, it is acknowledged that the freedom of the individual is only restricted when the interests of the nation as a whole are greater. Freedom of the individual should not be such that it undermines the activities of the state. An ungoverned or poorly governed society is constantly at war with itself. The more civic responsibility and enterprise develop, the better off the state is. The extent to which the freedom of the individual should be limited depends on the era and the country in question. Exceptional times may call for exceptional measures. A further point is that misuse of freedom may necessitate a drastic, though temporary, restriction of that freedom. The need to acknowledge all these measures and restrictions finds expression in the idea and concept of state. It is a great art to be able to measure with accuracy the extent to which restrictions should be imposed. This, in fact, is the art of government. The skill of this art manifests itself in the laws prescribing the limits of freedom, for laws only set and determine the borderline in question. In any event, individuals are often only asked partially to renounce their freedom for the sake of the state and this is for the sake of the freedom and happiness of the citizens as a whole.4 Freedom of the individual is an inalienable right of the human race. It signifies the continuity and permanence of personal security. Liberties can be divided into two groups; firstly those related to the material interests of the individual and secondly those pertaining to the intellectual life of the individual. Liberties in the first group include civil liberties, inviolability of the