Fostering Individual Empowerment Through Social Cohesion

The liberal vision of freedom sees the individual to be able to choose from a variety of options without being restricted externally. An equal access to economic structures and the legal system realizes the liberal goal of equal chances for any member of society. The lack of an external boundary stopping the individual to act does not necessarily empower the individual to deal with existing things around him in a creative manner though. How does an approach to the concept of freedom as an individually acquired ability in a socially fostered environment relate to the modern version of liberty as a structural-political achievement?