To do so is to infringe individual rights and make a man contribute by force to objects which he may view with indifference or even with dislike. . . . Liberalism conceives the ideal society as a whole which lives and flourishes by the harmonious growth of its parts, each of which in developing on its own lines and in accordance with its own nature tends on the whole to further the development of others. There are many possibilities, and the course that will in the end make for social harmony is only one among them, while the possibilities of disharmony and conflict are many. The progress of society like that of the individual depends, then, ultimately on choice. The heart of Liberalism is the understanding that progress is not a matter of mechanical contrivance, but of the liberation of living spiritual energy.
Good mechanism is that which provides the channels wherein such energy can flow unimpeded. . .
We have seen that social liberty rests on restraint. A man can be free to direct his own life only insofar as others are prevented from molesting and interfering with him. The majority of employers in a trade we may suppose would be willing to adopt certain precautions for the health or safety of their workers, to lower hours or to raise the rate of wages. They are unable to do so, however, as long as a minority, perhaps as long as a single employer, stands out. He would beat them in competition if they were voluntarily to undertake expenses from which he is free.