John Stuart Mill: Liberty and the Harm Principle

How much freedom should an individual have? John Stuart Mill, in his classic *On Liberty*, gave a powerful answer: the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. This is the Harm Principle. Mill argued that society, through law and public opinion, constantly threatens to crush individuality in the name of conformity. For him, liberty of thought, feeling, and action was essential not only for individual flourishing but for the progress of society. He defended eccentricity, arguing that we need “experiments in living” to discover the best ways to live. Mill’s philosophy is the bedrock of modern liberalism, a passionate defense of the individual against the tyranny of the majority.