What is freedom?

Freedom is an ambiguous term which means very different things to various people in various times and places. Personally, I believe freedom has two main components:

1. The freedom from the exercise of arbitrary power against you. That is, people cannot simply do what they want against you with your permission.
2. The freedom to express oneself without fear of reprisal. This is a more complicated part because it often involves one's capacity to express oneself and expression in some kind of political system.

People often also distinguish between negative and positive freedom. A negative freedom is the right to not have something done to you; a positive freedom is the right for something to be given to you.