Course:Law3020/2014WT1/Group F/Liberty-Paternalism

Liberty

John Stuart Mill proposes that legal philosophers stop asking what the law is and start asking when the law ought to be used to enforce the moral code of society. He believes that since the law is used to regulate human behaviour, people should be more concerned with the limits of law and poses the following: when are restrictions on the liberty of individuals justified?

Mill argues that the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent serious harm to other people. He rejects the principle of paternalism and the idea that it is okay for the law to restrict or prevent a person from harming themselves such as by way of suicide or an addiction to bad habits. An individual, Mill states, knows what is best for him or her self and should be free to do what they want even if others disagree. Additionally, a person should not be punished for thoughts or beliefs that he or she has unless they are injurious to others.

Paternalism

Gerald Dworkin (not to be confused with previously mentioned legal theorist, Ronald Dworkin) disagrees with Mill and contends that interference with a person’s personal liberty for the purpose of self-harm is justified when it is for his or her own good. Further, paternalistic intervention will be permitted if the consequences of an individual’s free choice are “far-reaching, potentially dangerous and irreversible.” Dworkin argues that paternalism is comparable to a social insurance policy as it is a safeguard that serves to protect each consenting person in society from damaging his or her own personal autonomy.