How Does Mill Limit Censorship Of Pornography?

Since the creation of pornography, there has been a considerable amount of debate over the moral permissibility of censorship on pornographic material. Many groups and individuals have questioned the right to pornography because of concerns over obscenity and the potential harm pornography might cause. In his book On Liberty, Mill provides theories on how one might address issues of harm, to the extent of one’s personal liberty. When applying the harm principle, would Mill permit the censorship of pornography? Mill would not permit the censorship of pornography based on his principles and beliefs.

Mill explained liberty as consisting in doing what one desires (Mill 88). Mill may not necessarily approve of pornography but based the harm

One of the issues Mill addresses is the restriction of selling drugs or poison. Mill realizes that it may be possible to prevent the death and harm of others by restricting the sale of poison. The application of the harm principle would not allow for the poison to be prohibited because it violates the liberty of those who use poisons for innocent reasons (Mill 89). The issue is problematic because you must determine how far liberty may legitimately be invaded for the prevention of crime. It is possible that some sexual offenders watch or perform in pornography, but the majority of the people who use pornography never become criminals or sex offenders. In this case, Mill would not endorse

Dyzenhaus claims that pornography eroticizes the social and physical inequalities between man and woman (Dyzenhaus 540). Pornography also transmits a message of pan-societal domination of women by men, in which is taught and encouraged by pornography. Dyzenhaus forgets that the pornography he talks about is targeted at men who are the acclaimed oppressors (Skipper 727). Dyzenhaus fails to acknowledge the transparent discrimination of women in other mass published forms like women's literature. Mill condemns the harm of self-autonomy done in women's literature in his book The Subjection of Women. This same logic would force Mill to consider the censorship of vast bodies of literature and images that enforce stereotypical or discriminatory harm. Even then, Mill strongly believed that speech or expression in the form of publication was nearly just as important as liberty of thought and nearly inseparable from it (Mill 15). It is clear that Mill would not tolerate such censorship because it interferes with the personal liberties and freedom of expression he believed everyone