Utilitarianism In John Stuart Mill's On Liberty

John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty attempts to broaden the meaning of utility and depict the usefulness of utilitarianism in terms of right protection. With this, Mill rejects the coercion of conformity and celebrates individuality. His work can be broken down into two basic principles. The first principle establishes that people are not accountable to society for the actions that only concern themselves. The second, also known as the harm principle, establishes that the individual is accountable for actions that hurt others, and society can punish a person for such actions. In this paper, I will analyze Mill’s argument on drugs, prostitution, and the decision to have children and how these examples are consistent with the harm principle. To make this argument, I will also argue that his first principle, in alignment with the second principle, restrict such conduct. In On Liberty, Mills applies his principle to a variety of examples, such as drugs. To support this argument, Mills not only provides alternatives for taking action against drugs, but also presents the limits of the government’s authority when faced with this particular example. …show more content…
To support this argument, Mill highlights the severity of having children, given the dangers of overpopulation and the necessity of giving offspring the “ordinary chances of a desirable existence” (Mill 106). Moreover, he suggests laws which restrict marriage to those who have the means of supporting a family and by doing so, the State does not violate the greater population’s liberty. Mill declares, “Such laws are interferences of the State to prohibit a mischievous act—an act injurious to others, which ought to be subject of reprobation and social stigma, even when it is not deemed expedient to superadd legal punishment” (Mill 107). Here, he implies that the precautionary requirement he suggests is not an infringement on liberty because it