On Liberty

For John Stuart Mill, freedom is the "first and strongest desire of human nature" and only enables the individual to fully develop his faculties, mind and morals. All state and social action must accordingly be directed toward granting the individual free development, while his freedom, as Mill formulates it in a principle known as the "principle of liberty," may be restricted under one condition: in order to protect himself or another person. Interventions by the state or society, on the other hand, aimed at forcing the individual to behave in a way that they believe is better or wiser or makes the individual happier are, according to Mill, unlawful and must be avoided at all costs. Gröls Classics - English Edition