Keywords
Liberty
Individuality
Harm principle
Liberalism
Social authority
How to Cite
Abstract
This paper reexamines John Stuart Mill’s philosophy of freedom as articulated in On Liberty, focusing on his enduring attempt to reconcile individual autonomy with the moral and legal boundaries of social order. Through a textual and comparative analysis, the study investigates how Mill’s harm principle—that liberty extends only until it causes harm to others—defines the ethical limits of state and social authority. The research situates Mill’s liberal thought within nineteenth-century political philosophy while assessing its contemporary relevance to debates on human rights, moral pluralism, and democratic responsibility. Findings reveal that Mill’s defense of freedom of thought, speech, and individuality remains central to modern discussions of civil liberty, yet his model underestimates structural inequalities and collective constraints that shape real freedom. By integrating philosophical, historical, and political perspectives, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of liberty as both a right and a moral condition for human development. It concludes that Mill’s liberal ideal—though historically limited—continues to serve as a critical foundation for evaluating the ethical balance between personal autonomy and the collective good in modern democratic societies.
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