Does individual freedom guarantee growth or hold us back?

By Neville Lai

Dambisa Moyo, a renowned Zambian economist and author, recently gave a talk at Oxford University contesting the liberal model. In light of the current political and economic climate, she argued that we should reevaluate the place of individual freedoms in modern society. The liberal tradition may not be as sacrosanct as it was anymore – or maybe it has never been.

Moyo’s talk is rather novel and persuasive. It goes against mainstream discussions defending Western liberalism as the foundation of society, where some even believe that liberalism and freedom are the assumptions for economic growth and wider social prosperity, as is the case in the United States. This seems to be an outdated or elusive concept as we see the growth of China in recent decades, where the notable swell of economic growth has not come with notable improvement of civil rights. Economic growth and individual freedoms may need not necessarily go hand in hand, one can then deduce, but individual freedoms may harm growth.

Moyo argues the fact that the number of overweight individuals has overtaken the number of malnourished, rapid population growth, and vicious democratic processes, hold economic growth back. Apparently, there may be other causes of these problems, individual freedoms may not be the only contribution, but the correlation is enough for us to reconsider. One should at least contemplate and investigate the possibilities of sacrificing a certain degree of freedom in exchange to reduce the extent of the existing threats. Surrendering individual freedom in exchange for greater good should be an option, and it has not been something new.

The trade-off between individual freedom and wider social prosperity is evident as demonstrated by historical examples. The two prime examples of Lincoln and Churchill, who championed liberty, were among the ones who suspended very basic civil liberties, said Moyo. Lincoln barred the writ of habeas corpus, and Churchill arrested suspects of aiding and abetting the Nazis without trial – all to avoid wider social costs and to defend the “good”. Individual freedoms can be and have been compromised for other wider social benefits.

Is economic growth a good enough reason for us to sacrifice our individual freedoms? Economic growth may not solve all problems, but it is the basic tool for solving many major problems, particularly for the global South. Our ability to sustain future economic growth and prosperity has been a defining crisis in this century, without which, ‘the sick goes untreated, the young goes uneducated; and the hungry goes unfed’, as Moyo claims. But the conflict between individual freedom and economic growth is apparent and that should be the focus of our generation. One should call for refinement of individual freedom and its place in modern society. Individual freedoms as an expense are not always as detrimental as one would think, and it should no longer be taboo in discussions.

One may disagree on attaching a price tag on individual freedoms. But as an economist, cost benefit analysis seems to be the most common way to determine the best approach. With that, one could then do the math easily.