In his seminal work on the topic, Mill declares that the three fundamental principles are absolute freedom of speech, freedom of action once no harm is done to others, and freedom of association, again with the same proviso. Does this mean for instance, that soft drug use should be unrestricted, as the user harms no other, and the suicide prohibition possible from hard drug use doesn't apply? Similarly, an argument could be made for prostitution, but that ignores the harm done through illegal trafficking and the dominance of the pimp. The freedom of political parties to operate mean that however distastefully, we must accept the right of any party to call for the overthrow of the state, the end of democracy, and even baiting of minorities under politically correct euphemisms. Finally, the publishing of the Muhammad cartoons may test the freedom of the press to its limits, but no community, whether ethnic, social or religious should be considered immune from satire.
