Using examples from The Crucible, what happens when individual freedom or theocracy gets out of balance?

This is an interesting question, especially in relation to
The Crucible, because in that play, we see that a theocracy might have some
pretty fatal flaws.  Along those lines, I'll briefly mention some possible negatives when a
theocracy has too much power and control.  In the play, we see that the leaders of their
theocracy were also religious leaders who supposedly had God working on their side.  Those
leaders--Reverend Parris, Judges Danforth and Hawthorne--had too much power, because they could
condemn people to die with no evidence and with no fair trial.  They had that right because they
supposedly had God's will on their side.  Also seen in the play is how people were so fixated on
the religious side of events that anyone who thought differently from them at all, in any way,
were thought of as heretics, and hence punished by the law.  Take Sarah Good for example, who
wasn't married and didn't quite follow their religious customs.  As a result, she was condemned
and judged, and eventually arrested for witchcraft.  Theocracies have very rigid rules, and
strict punishments, and if taken too far, then serious damage can be done.  People are afraid to
speak up, because then they'll be seen as evil, and the law isn't on their side if they are. 
That is what happened in this play, and what led to so many
arrests.

On the other hand, if individual freedom is left unchecked,
it often results in anarchy, or total chaos and destruction.  There are no laws and no order to
keep balance.  People do what they want, when they want, even if it is as the cost of someone
else's safety, well-being or happiness.  Society needs to have some checks and safeguards, some
reassurances that their property and happiness won't be taken from them by someone else. That is
what the law is supposed to protect.  In The Crucible, the law had
overstepped its bounds and were the guilty party in taking property and happiness; they weren't
protecting any longer, they were taking, just like people in an anarchy
do.

The end result of either one of these extremes is a loss of
freedom, total fear, and no one's rights being protected.  I hope that those thoughts helped;
good luck!