Açıklama
The tendency of a democratic majority to suppress the freedom of minorities and alternative ways of life. Mill emphasizes that democracy may involve not only governmental tyranny but also the informal pressures exerted by the social majority. Restrictions on freedom of expression and experimental ways of living arise when the majority regards its own values as natural and beyond dispute. The Harm Principle introduces the criterion of “harm alone” in order to limit such pressures, maintaining that mere disapproval or offense cannot, by itself, constitute a legitimate ground for intervention.