KINDS OF LIBERTY

Tom is perfectly right that

There are two kinds of liberty: physical, and psychological. A person is physically liberated if she is unrestricted in her abilities to act. She is psychologically liberated if she has the capacity to change her opinions and desires. It is possible for someone to forcibly liberate someone in the physical sense. It is not possible to forcibly liberate someone in the psychological sense, however.

But it does not follow that we should not ensure people's physical liberty unless they are psychologically free. Millions of Americans sleepwalk through life, going to the same job, coming home at the same time, doing everything by numb routine, and they're too afraid to deviate from the routine or take risks. We nevertheless guarantee their physical liberty and would punish any violation of it. Tom's distinction is valid, but irrelevant to the question at hand.