From Theodore Dalrymple in City Journal, Spring 1997. Don't Legalize Drugs. We wonder how well an argument of Descartes or Voltaire will hold up over centuries. Sometimes it is worth considering how well a point of view holds up over even 25 years.
No man, except possibly a hermit, is an island; and so it is virtually impossible for Mill’s principle to apply to any human action whatever, let alone shooting up heroin or smoking crack. Such a principle is virtually useless in determining what should or should not be permitted.
Perhaps we ought not be too harsh on Mill’s principle: it’s not clear that anyone has ever thought of a better one. But that is precisely the point.
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