J.S. MILL’S ON LIBERTY AND GAMBLING
T. Nishit, Junior Research Fellow, Department of Law, Osmania University, Hyderabad
ABSTRACT
John Stuart Mill’s book On Liberty is considered to be an important piece of work to defend free speech and individuality. Mill argues that the individuality of members promotes the use of their mental faculties which not only promotes the good of the individual but also the society. According to him, he tries to defend ‘one very simple principle’ in the book which later came to be known as ‘harm principle.’ This principle states that interference of State with the action of an individual will be justified only if it causes harm to others in the society. Gambling, which is considered a social evil in many societies, is essentially an activity that may cause self-inflicting harm. This paper discusses the views of J.S. Mill on gambling in the light of the harm principle, the importance of individuality of members in the society, and limitations on the powers of the State.
