Democracies liberate people (4,5)

I believe the answer is:

free world

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'democracies liberate people' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'liberate people' is the wordplay.
'liberate' becomes 'free' (synonyms).
'people' becomes 'world' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'free'+'world'='FREE WORLD'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for free world that I've seen before include "Cold War term for non-Communist countries" , "Cold War term for the capitalist countries" , "Capitalist democracies, collectively" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.