Political PhilosophyBook · 1859
On Liberty
John Stuart Mill
Mill argues that the only ground for coercing anyone is preventing harm to others, and that social pressure to conform is as dangerous as the state. He wrote it with Harriet Taylor Mill and published it the year after she died. The third chapter, on individuality, is the part most often skipped and the one most worth reading.
Why you should read this
Still the standard reference point in debates over free speech and personal liberty, Mill's argument here is that the only justification for restricting an individual's actions is to prevent harm to others. It states the classic liberal case in its most compact and systematic form.
- Field
- Political Philosophy
- Form
- Non-fiction
- Published
- 1859
- Themes
- LiberalismPolitical Philosophy
