“The subject of my study is not the so-called free will, which is so unsuccessfully opposed to the doctrine falsely called the doctrine of philosophical necessity, but civil or social freedom, the properties and limits of that power that can rightly be recognized as belonging to society over the individual. This question was rarely raised and was hardly ever considered on its general basis, but nevertheless it was inherent in all practical questions of our time, had a strong influence on their practical solution, and the time will probably come soon when it will be recognized the most vital question of the future. Strictly speaking, this question is not new; one might even say that, almost from the most distant times, it has, in a sense, divided people; it is at the stage of progress that the most civilized part of humanity has now entered, it appears under completely new conditions, and therefore requires a completely different and more thorough consideration...”