The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom
Documentary

The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom

Individual freedom is the dream of our age. It's what our leaders promise to give us, it defines how we think of ourselves and, repeatedly, we have gone to war to impose freedom around the world. But if you step back and look at what freedom actually means for us today, it's a strange and limited kind of freedom.

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Created By

Status

Ended

Original Name

The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom

First Air Date

March 11, 2007

Last Air Date

March 25, 2007

Seasons

1

Episodes

3

Language

English

Production Companies

BBC

Networks

BBC Two

S01E03

We Will Force You To Be Free

The final program focused on the concepts of positive and negative liberty introduced in the 1950s by Isaiah Berlin. Curtis briefly explained how negative liberty could be defined as freedom from coercion and positive liberty as the opportunity to strive to fulfill one's potential. Tony Blair had read Berlin's essays on the topic and wrote to him in the late 1990s, arguing that positive and negative liberty could be mutually compatible. He never received a reply, as Berlin was on his death bed.

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