Individualism

John Stuart Mill provides an illustration of individualist philosophy that has been a reference point for legislators and lawyers. His focus was on the freedom of the individual − an individual should be free to act as long as it did not cause harm to others. The individual is responsible for his own actions and meeting his needs. The function of the State is to ensure that individuals have the education and opportunity.

In the mid-nineteenth-century Britain liberal opinion had favoured leaving welfare issues as far as possible to charity, self-help, and remedies at common law. The focus of this theory is on the civil and political rights of individuals − their freedom from state oppression and freedom to participate in the democratic process, rather than on rights to benefits from the state or from other individuals.