Freedom against the tyranny of opinion

John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty asks what power society may legitimately exercise over the individual. Yang Zhao places its arguments beside contemporary problems including public shaming, moral coercion, information bubbles, data surveillance, and silent self-censorship.

The course examines freedom of speech, individuality, the harm principle, majority rule, and the limits of authority—showing why a society that celebrates freedom can still produce new forms of conformity.