Q0267

John Stuart Mill

A verified English rendering from the curated archive.

English

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.
Thinker John Stuart Mill
School Liberalism
Source On Liberty I
Theme Liberty
Another quotation More from this thinker

Source context

This English passage is associated with On Liberty I, within the tradition of Liberalism. The wording below is a verified rendering prepared for careful reading rather than a claim of unique translation authority.

A short reading

Read in the register of liberty, the sentence asks the reader to test an assumption rather than to collect a slogan. In John Stuart Mill's wider work, similar claims are usually offered as prompts for judgment: what would have to be true for the sentence to hold, and what would follow if it did?

How to cite this quotation

APA: John Stuart Mill. (n.d.). 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. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0267

MLA: John Stuart Mill. “The only purpose for which power can be….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0267.

Chicago: John Stuart Mill. “The only purpose for which power can be….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0267.

Same thinker

More from John Stuart Mill

  1. The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs.
  2. It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.
  3. He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that.
  4. It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied.
  5. Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.

All quotations by John Stuart Mill

Same theme

More on liberty

  1. The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs.
  2. Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.
  3. Being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.
  4. Democratic societies have a natural taste for liberty.

Browse the liberty theme