One of the foundational inspirations for my own approach to social and political philosophy is John Stuart Mill's On Liberty. In it, up front, is the harm principle: "the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others." This is a much more complex idea than might be supposed. Who does the principle govern? What counts as harm? What is an exercise of power over others? Mill gives us some sense of what he means in his other works, and in particular, Utilitarianism. This is a good discussion of the various permutations of the idea, and it should leave you understanding that Mill's argument in no way justifies the more hard-edged libertarian ideas it has been used to support in recent times.
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