On Liberty
John Stuart Mill 1859
An essay sets out where the power of society and government over the individual should stop. Its simple rule is that people may be stopped only to prevent harm to others.
183 pages 3h 33m reading time
- A founding text of modern liberalism.
- Sets out the harm principle, that society may limit your freedom only to stop you harming others.
- Argues that even wrong opinions deserve free expression, because truth is found and kept alive through open debate.
- The 1957 Wolfenden Report drew on its harm principle to argue for legalizing gay sex between consenting adults in private, which Parliament did for England and Wales in 1967.
- It remains the classic defense of free speech in debates over censorship.
A tribute to his wife
Harriet Taylor, Mill's wife, died suddenly in 1858, and he published it in her memory without changing a word.
Written as a partnership
Mill said he and Harriet wrote and revised it together, more truly a joint work than anything else he wrote.
Born on Roman steps
Mill decided to turn his 1854 essay into a book while climbing steps in Rome in 1855.
A cheap edition for workers
In 1865 Mill had a low-priced "People's Edition" issued so working readers could afford it.
From the Walter Scott Publishing Co. edition