On Liberty

On Liberty is an essay by John Stuart Mill first published in 1859.

In this work, Stuart Mill offers one of the classic defenses of individual freedom against social and political oppression. Mill is concerned not only with the power of governments, but also with the subtle pressure of public opinion and social norms that can stifle originality and independence of thought.

At the heart of the book is Mill’s famous “harm principle”: the idea that the only legitimate reason for society or the state to restrict someone’s freedom is to prevent harm to others, not to protect people from themselves, enforce morality, or impose majority preferences. As long as a person’s actions affect only themselves, Mill argues, they should be free to act as they choose.

Mill devotes special attention to freedom of thought and expression, insisting that even false or unpopular opinions should be allowed to circulate. Suppressing an opinion, he argues, robs society of the chance either to replace error with truth or to understand the truth more deeply by confronting objections. Open debate and diversity of viewpoints are therefore essential to human progress.

"The subject of this Essay is not the so-called Liberty of the Will, so unfortunately opposed to the misnamed doctrine of Philosophical Necessity; but Civil, or Social Liberty: the nature and limits of the power which can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual."