Definition of Individual liberty

In his work On Liberty, Mill placed much emphasis on individual liberty and its vital role in political society. To Mill, this phrase may be defined as the liberty of the individual to be the final judge over his actions; to decide what is right and wrong and to act upon that standard. On a secondary level, it also implies one's freedom to pursue one's own individuality. Mill believed in a society in which each individual leads his own distinctive life according to his own unique talents; unfettered by regulations upon thought, opinion, actions etc.

However, Mill asserts an important caveat; that which he calls `the very simple principle'. He writes, `That principle is, that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action...