Liberalism harm principle

Chemicals regulation is predominantly risk-based , in that only if there is clear evidence that there is a significant risk of a chemical causing a known type of harm is the production or use of the chemical subject to controls the aim of those controls is to reduce the risks associated with a chemical. The requirement to demonstrate harm, or a risk of harm, before restrictions can be placed on chemical production or use, is in accordance with the harm principle , one of the major tenets of the political philosophy of liberalism. The harm principle holds that the government should only interfere with the actions of the individual if those actions cause harm to others. In Chapter 8 I consider the arguments put forward by liberals in defence of the harm principle and conclude that they do not justify its application to the industrial production of chemicals. 

Liberalism is concerned first and foremost with the preservation of the freedom of the individual. Freedom is understood as the absence of constraints on individual action and is exercised in the private sphere. The role of government is to protect this private sphere and its rights and freedoms, so government should not interfere in the actions of individuals unless such interference is warranted by the need to protect the rights and freedoms of others, in other words where the individual s actions cause harm to others this is the harm principle. 

It should be noted that the classic formulation of the harm principle by Mill refers to actions of individuals and that it is with the individual that both liberal justifications for the harm principle are concerned. The principle is justified by the need to protect the rights of individuals to live according to their own beliefs,... 

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