"I am truly free only when all human beings, men and women, are equally free. The freedom of other men, far from negating or limiting my freedom, is, on the contrary, its necessary premise and confirmation"

Mikhail Bakunin’s words challenge the notion that freedom can exist in isolation. He asserts that genuine liberty is not achieved as an individual, or even by a select group, but must be realized collectively by all. The core idea rejects individualistic or competitive forms of freedom, where one person’s gain might imply another’s loss. Instead, Bakunin proposes that freedom relies fundamentally upon equality among all people, regardless of gender or status. If someone else remains oppressed or unfree, his own freedom remains incomplete or illusory.

This interdependence subverts any belief that emancipation can coexist with subjugation. True freedom is communal and reciprocal; it cannot flourish while others are denied its blessings. No individual can call themselves free while participating in, or even passively benefiting from, the repression or marginalization of others. Any limitations suffered by another person limit everyone, as humanity’s social nature binds individual well-being to the well-being of the community.

Bakunin’s perspective also contains an implicit critique of hierarchical or authoritarian systems. Authoritarianism, patriarchy, economic inequality, these are not merely problematic because they harm their victims, but because they undermine liberty itself for all people. The more just and equitable the society, the more profound the individual’s own experience of freedom. One person’s oppression inevitably restricts everyone’s possibilities and choices.

Furthermore, Bakunin turns the supposed conflict between individual and collective rights on its head. Instead of other people’s freedom being a threat or limit to his own, it is in fact foundational for his liberation. The freedom of others becomes a guarantee, not a constraint; a precondition for realizing the ethical, creative, and social potential of each person. Only by striving for universal emancipation do we achieve a meaningful, robust, and sustainable concept of personal freedom, dispelling the illusion that liberty can be a private possession.