从《论自由》看保障个体权利的社会意义

Social Meaning of Protection of Individual Rights Based on the Book On Liberty

从理论上看,在现代民主社会中,每个人都有机会行使自己当家作主的权利、具有充分的个人自由,但民主社会的表现形式很可能会导致"多数人的暴虐"。为了防止多数人剥夺少数人的正当权利和侵犯少数人的正当利益,密尔从功利主义立场强调了个人自由表达权利的合理性以及个人自由行为权利的重要性。他把个人权利置于国家公权力之上的主张具有重要现实意义。

Theoretically, in a modern democratic society each person has the opportunity to exercise his rights of masters with the full individual freedom. However, the manifestation of a democratic society is likely to lead to ＂the tyranny of the majority. ＂ In order to prevent the majority from depriving the minority of their legitimate rights and violating their legitimate interests, Mill, from a utilitarian standpoint, emphasized the legitimacy of the free ex-pression of individual rights and the importance of the individual rights to civil liberty. His proposal of the priority of the individual rights to the national public power is practically significant.