Political Science · Western Political Thought
UGC NET January 2017 Political Science
Who among the following argued that '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'?
AJames Mill
BJeremy Bentham
CJS Mill ✓ Correct
DJB Priestley
Correct answer: (C) JS Mill — This is the statement of the harm principle by John Stuart Mill.
Explanation
★This is the statement of the harm principle by John Stuart Mill.
★It appears in On Liberty of 1859, the founding text of modern liberal thought on individual freedom.
★The harm principle holds that power may be used against a person, against their will, only to prevent harm to others.
★Conduct that concerns only the agent lies in a protected sphere of individual liberty.
★Mill defends this to secure freedom of thought, expression, and lifestyle against social and state coercion.
★James Mill and Bentham were earlier utilitarians, but this principle is the younger Mill's distinctive contribution.
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