Chapter four
Of the Limits to the Authority of Society over the Individual
(¶4.1) What, then,
is the rightful limit to the sovereignty of the individual over himself?
Where does the authority of society begin? How much of human life should be
assigned to individuality, and how much to society?
(¶4.2) Each will
receive its proper share, if each has that which more
particularly concerns it. To individuality should belong the part of
life in which it is chiefly the individual that is interested; to
society, the part which chiefly interests society.
(¶4.3) Though
society is not founded on
a contract, and though no good
purpose is answered by inventing a contract in order to deduce
social obligations from it, every one who receives the protection of
society owes a return for the benefit, and the fact of living in
society renders it indispensable that each should be bound to
observe a certain line of conduct towards the rest. This conduct
consists, first, in not injuring the interests of one another; or
rather certain interests, which, either by express legal provision
or by tacit understanding, ought to be considered as rights; and
secondly, in each person's bearing his share (to be fixed on some
equitable principle) of the labours and sacrifices incurred for
defending the society or its members from injury and molestation.
These conditions society is justified in enforcing, at all costs to
those who endeavour to withhold fulfilment. Nor is this all that
society may do. The acts of an individual may be hurtful to others, or
wanting in due consideration for their welfare, without going to the
length of violating any of their constituted rights. The offender
may then be justly punished by opinion, though not by law. As soon
as any part of a person's conduct affects prejudicially the
interests of others, society has jurisdiction over it, and the
question whether the general welfare will or will not be promoted by
interfering with it, becomes open to discussion. But there is no
room for entertaining any such question when a person's conduct
affects the interests of no persons besides himself, or needs not
affect them unless they like (all the persons concerned being of
full age, and the ordinary amount of understanding). In all such
cases, there should be perfect freedom, legal and social, to do the
action and stand the consequences.
The paragraph numbers have been added to these web extracts for your
referencing convenience. The paragraphs numbered are Mill's. Mill uses very
long paragraphs, which I have broken for ease of web reading.
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