When is it correct to say that a person's freedom is restricted? Can poverty constrain freedom? Can you constrain your own freedom, for instance through weakness of the will or self-deception, and are you not truly free unless you act on a rational choice? Kristján Kristjánsson offers a critical analysis of the main components of a theory of negative liberty: the nature of obstacles and constraints, the weight of obstacles and the relation of freedom to power and autonomy. Through this discussion, which examines much of the contemporary work on political freedom, he develops his own theory of negative liberty, the so-called 'responsibility view', which meets many of the goals of advocates of positive liberty while retaining its distinctive 'negative' nature. He also argues for, and implements, a method of naturalistic revision as a way of solving conceptual disputes in social philosophy.

"...lucid and useful book....Social Freedom is a book with many virtues and few imperfections. Its wide-ranging discussion of the various positions in the debate on freedom serves as a useful survey, and the level of argumentation is generally high. The discussion proceeds in a careful and focused manner, and is often very convincing. Kristjansson's tyle is formal and clear, every so often there is a charming, and sometimes very Icelandic flash of color..." - Andrew Bailey, Philosophy in Review