John Stuart Mill's "The Harm Principle"

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), the most influential political philosopher of the 19th Century, and author of the classic, On Liberty (1859), introduced a doctrine he called "The Harm Principle." Mr. Mill believed that human behavior that causes no significant harm to others should not constitute a crime. This philosophy reflected Mill's belief that government should have limited involvement in the lives of its citizens. The English philosopher would be appalled at the massive size of the administrative arm of the U. S. government, a giant, uncontrolled bureaucracy that regulates or criminalizes every aspect of American life.