Liberal autonomy is procedural, so illiberal acts count as free when voluntarily chosen.

Evidence

Although there continues to be considerable debate about these entwined notions of negative and positive freedom, 18 I want to emphasize the concept of individual autonomy that is central to both, and the concomitant elements of coercion and consent that are critical to this topography of freedom. In order for an individual to be free, her actions must be the consequence of her “own will” rather than of custom, tradition, or social coercion. To the degree that autonomy in this tradition of liberal political theory is a procedural principle, and not an ontological or substantive feature of the subject, it delimits the necessary condition for the enactment of the ethics of freedom. Thus, even il.. liberal actions can arguably be tolerated if it is determined that they are undertaken by a freely consenting individual who is acting of her own accord. — Saba Mahmood, Politics of Piety, 93

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the voluntarism in Mill’s harm principle and to human-rights debates about whether cultural/religious practices are ‘freely chosen.’