clipped from www.intellectualconservative.com

There is neither such thing as a people with complete freedom nor one completely bereft of it; it’s a matter of degree. 

While many realize this, few understand that there is a barometer with which liberty can be measured: The number of laws in existence.

By definition, a law is the removal of a freedom, as it dictates that there is something you cannot or must do.  If the former, you’re not free to do it; if the latter, you’re not free to do otherwise. 

Many rightly point out that some laws free us from the tyranny of our fellow man.  Prohibitions against murder, rape and theft, for instance, provide us the freedom to walk down the street unmolested.  Yet for two reasons this barometer of liberty is still valid.  First, when we speak of how free a nation is, we refer to freedom from government intrusion.  Second, while such laws are necessary and just, they do nevertheless deny us certain freedoms.  Only, we’re not going to worry about freedoms whose removal only bothers Tony Soprano.