Harm Principle
Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-28
CORE DEFINITION
The harm principle holds that the actions of individuals should be restricted only to prevent harm to others. British philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill articulated this principle in his 1859 essay 'On Liberty', stating: '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.' A similar expression appeared in the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789): 'Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law.' Thomas Jefferson expressed a similar view in Query 17 (Religion) of his 'Notes on the State of Virginia' (1785), writing: 'the legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others.'
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
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The harm principle holds that the actions of individuals should be restricted only to prevent harm to others. British philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill articulated this principle in his 1859 essay 'On Liberty', stating: '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.'
Anchor fast decisions
Mill: Public power may restrict individual liberty only to prevent harm to others; for purely self-regarding actions or those that do not harm others, society has no right to interfere (even if it deems them foolish).
MINIMUM ACTION
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- zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BC%A4%E5%AE%B3%E5%8E%9F%E5%88%99verified
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