The harm principle holds that the actions of individuals should be restricted by society or the state only to prevent harm to other people. John Stuart Mill articulated the principle in his 1859 essay On Liberty, writing that the only purpose for which power can rightfully be exercised over a member of a civilized community against their will is to prevent harm to others. Similar formulations appear earlier in the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789, which held that liberty consists in the freedom to do anything that injures no one else, and in Thomas Jefferson's 1785 Notes on the State of Virginia, which held that the legitimate powers of government extend only to acts that are injurious to others.
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Source Harm Principle (Wikipedia)
In Branch
Source Harm Principle (Wikipedia)
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1. Harm Principle (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHarm principle (Wikipedia), introduction
The harm principle holds that the actions of individuals should be limited only to prevent harm to other individuals.
Harm principle (Wikipedia), on Mill 1859
John Stuart Mill articulated the principle in the 1859 essay On Liberty
Associated With: John Stuart Mill, Body text, On Liberty
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.
In Branch: Political Philosophy, Lead section
The harm principle holds that the actions of individuals should be limited only to prevent harm to other individuals.
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