ABSTRACT
Negative liberty is the right to be free of state coercion. The First Amendment right "to petition the government for a redress of grievances," for example, is a negative liberty. The right to basic police protection that the state usually provides is an example of a positive liberty. In the United States, negative and positive liberties derive from both constitutional and statutory law. In DeShaney, Justice Scalia reasoned that the framers of the Constitution left the creation of positive liberty "to the democratic political process" and, indeed, ordinary legislation has proved a fertile ground for positive liberty. The federal government, for instance, has created numerous rights that the individual may demand from the government. Prominent examples include disability benefits under Social Security, medical insurance for the poor, and the right to be free of invidious discrimination from other private citizens.
