Freedom as Mobility: Implications of the Distinction between Actual and Potential Travelling

This paper defines mobility as the potential transport of humans and explores the mobility aspect of freedom. Freedom as mobility is composed both of opportunities to travel when and where one pleases and of the feasibility of the choice not to travel. The essay further analyses the implications for the idea of freedom as mobility of distinguishing between actual and potential travel. It is also shown how mobility as a right is challenged by a central feature of democracy – namely, respect for unanimity – and how tracks left by travellers can be exploited for surveillance and control. Moreover, mobility leads to a potential absence and thus uncertainty. The paper evaluates how alternative responses to this problem have widely different consequences for the experience of freedom as mobility.