The concept of freedom has historically been considered from different points of view. Everyone remembers that there is an understanding of freedom as anarchy, or, on the contrary, as a conscious necessity. Freedom of choice suggests alternatives. A free state is associated with pluralism and democracy. What is economic freedom?
This concept implies that a person has the right to decide independently what activity he should choose, whether to work for hire or engage in entrepreneurship. In addition, we are free to choose products, give preference to a particular manufacturer.
Economic freedom in a market economy means that an entrepreneur can choose in which sphere to realize himself, where, in what form and volume to conduct activities aimed at the production or sale of goods or services and profit.
Economic freedom in the modern sense has historically been long and very difficult. It can be said that in world history this concept was formed between two extremes: complete personal freedom and great economic risk, on the one hand, and a person’s dependence on external factors, and the priority of economic security, on the other.
At the moment, economic freedom is balancing on a thin line between the tight control of the market by the state and the “anarchy” in the field of entrepreneurship. The latter phenomenon could be observed in the 90s of the last century. Now the main principle of regulating economic relations is to maintain this balance, avoiding infringement of human rights, and at the same time to carry out a clear regulation of these rights by law.
This is necessary so that society does not fall into the abyss of relations in which only power rules, but at the same time each person would have the opportunity to choose their own areas of activity and self-realization.
The modern economy of most countries does not need directive management, however, there are mechanisms of state regulation of the market in situations where it is necessary to accelerate its development.
We can say that economic freedom exists only for socially responsible individuals. The selfish needs of a person should be limited by the need to correlate their rights and their activities with the interests of other people and society as a whole. Only if a person understands and accepts this, can he become a full-fledged participant in economic relations.
Thanks to this duality, the development of society takes place, and its stability is maintained. We can say that economic freedom and social responsibility are inseparable concepts.
At the moment, social responsibility is understood not only as taking into account the needs of other people and their economic interests. This concept extends to the natural environment, which is a source of raw materials, and, as a consequence, profit.
Over the past few years, misallocation of resources has led to a sharp deterioration in the quality of the environment. For a long time, entrepreneurs were considered people who will not stop at nothing for profit, and the concept of "ecology" is an empty phrase for them.
However, currently there is a serious need to change the forms of social responsibility regarding the use of natural resources. Unfortunately, in our country the level of understanding of the consequences of uncontrolled exploitation of sources of raw materials is still very low.
So, economic freedom is possible only in a society where there is a developed social responsibility, the area of which includes not only the observance of the economic interests of other people, but also concern for nature, which is a source of raw materials and the basis for the development of the economy of any country.