"Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err"

True freedom encompasses the ability to make mistakes, learn from them, and grow as individuals and as a society. Perfect obedience or infallibility under compulsion is not liberty, but rather a form of control or suppression. Mahatma Gandhi’s assertion that freedom is not valuable unless it includes the freedom to err exposes the essential role that choice, complete with its attendant risks and missteps, plays in the life of a free human being.

When laws, customs, or authorities aim to shield people from every potential error, they inevitably limit expression, innovation, and even personal maturation. Learning and self-improvement are often direct results of trial, experiment, and occasional failure. If freedom were only permitted in arenas where mistakes were impossible or not tolerated, growth would stagnate, and authentic creativity or moral discernment would diminish. Genuine autonomy demands that individuals have the space to act, even if those actions are misguided or incorrect, provided they do not cause overwhelming harm to others.

Gandhi’s perspective recognizes the intrinsic imperfection of human beings. Placing restrictions to prevent all errors might guarantee order, but it would be at the expense of independence and human dignity. People denied the freedom to misjudge or to fail can neither full-heartedly achieve nor sincerely repent; they live in a stunted, externally managed existence. The process of making choices, sometimes poor ones, and facing consequences is foundational to responsibility, humility, empathy, and progress. Furthermore, societal advancement often depends on the willingness to challenge orthodoxy and take risks that might initially appear erroneous.

Embracing freedom to err does not glorify mistakes but affirms the right to learn and recover from them. It highlights the compassionate understanding that real liberty accepts imperfection, trusting in the individual’s capacity to evolve. Gandhi’s words challenge us to safeguard freedom not just as a privilege, but as a complex, sometimes messy, yet indispensable condition for authentic human fulfillment.