- What is independence?
- Psychological or personal independence
- Political independence
- Economic independence
We explain what independence is, the origin of the term and what are psychological, economic and political independence.
What is independence?
By independence we normally refer to the ability to act autonomously, that is, to be able to make one's own decisions and ensure one's own existence without the need for tutorials or controls from anyone. In other words, independence translates into control of things that are one's own and in the decision making free, without being subject to the discretion of third parties.
This is a term from Latin, made up of the voices in- ("Without") and I will depend ("Hang on", "submit to"), and that applies to very different areas of life and knowledge, such as antonym dependency. In general it is a term with positive connotations, which can be used in connection with persons, from institutions or even of nations whole, and in areas as different as the emotional life, the politics wave economy.
Psychological or personal independence
In psychology and personal development, we refer to independence to indicate the margin of autonomy of individuals, that is, their ability to make their own decisions, undertake their own projects and, in general, decide on their own life without needing the supervision of anyone.
We are all born in a state of dependency, both physically and emotionally, since we are from the earliest age subject to the decisions of our parents. They are the ones who feed us, dress us, take us to school, and so on. We are expected, later on, that we will relieve them of this work, gradually making our own decisions and taking the helm of our lives.
The first clear indications of psychological or personal independence occur in the adolescence, often in the form of rebellion. We are eager to make our decisions, even before we have the ability to reflect on them. But at the beginning of our life adult, we must definitely take command, and this implies taking responsibility for what we decide and for our own welfare.
Thus, a psychologically independent person will be able to plan and execute his life, without the need for someone to lead him by the hand and tell him what is the right thing to do. That does not mean that you will not be wrong, but that you will take care of your mistakes, learn from them, and assume your Liberty personal, emotional and existential with responsibilities that they imply.
Political independence
Political independence obviously concerns nations and nations. countries. A country is independent when it enjoys the sovereignty about his territory and on the social, economic and political activities that take place there. It encompasses territorial control through the armed forces, the control of the bureaucracy and its effects on citizen life, and the power of decision regarding international treaties that the country subscribes or not.
The classic example of non-independent nations is the colonies: nations under the control of a foreign metropolis, from which even its laws and their rulers are decided.
Many present-day nations, in fact, acquired their sovereignty precisely through wars of independence, fought against the Empires colonial of Europe. For example, the Latin American nations freed themselves from the control of Spain through a series of bloody attacks. wars independentistas initiated between 1804 and 1811.
Economic independence
The term "financial independence" has been used in various senses, depending on the context. In the most common and general, it can refer to financial solvency, that is, the ability of an individual to face their debts and meet their needs without needing the help of anyone. In this sense, it is part of the requirements for an independent life, that is, for an autonomous adult life.
On the other hand, there has been talk of "economic independence" in the context of debates historical political models, to refer to certain political and economic models with a developmental spirit, that is, that aspire to develop the productive potential of a country until it becomes self-sufficient, and then - only then - to open up to Commerce with the rest of the world.
This tendency thinks of the nation as an autonomous system, capable of sustaining itself instead of depending on foreign trade, which allows it to negotiate with other nations from a position of equality, and not of necessity.
These types of proposals are very common in nations that were European colonies, since their political liberation did not always bring economic autonomy, but many preserved the dependent production model that exports raw material and imports the products derived from it.