--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Clearly, freedom does not extend to the…" description: "\"Clearly, freedom does not extend to the right to harm other people.\" — Lionel Shriver" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b4/lionel-shriver-744_freedom_clearly-freedom-does-not-extend-to-the-r_1836717.jpg" --- # Clearly, freedom does not extend to the right to harm… ![“Clearly, freedom does not extend to the right to harm other people.” quote by Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b4/lionel-shriver-744_freedom_clearly-freedom-does-not-extend-to-the-r_1836717.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b4/lionel-shriver-744_freedom_clearly-freedom-does-not-extend-to-the-r_1836717.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b4/lionel-shriver-744_freedom_clearly-freedom-does-not-extend-to-the-r_1836717.jpg) > “Clearly, freedom does not extend to the right to harm other people.” [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom does not include the right to cause harm to others. **In simple terms:** Freedom isn’t a license to hurt. Key Takeaway Respect others’ safety. Themes ethics rights law personal responsibility society Mood thoughtful serious Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - workplace policies - public legislation - interpersonal relationships - online behavior - community standards Key Concepts non‑maleficence social contract human rights Questions to Reflect On - When does protecting others limit personal freedom? - What safeguards best prevent harm? A Different Perspective Balancing freedom with harm prevention can be complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Harm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harm/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [No one has the right to harm the IDF.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoav-gallant/no-one-has-the-right-to-harm-the-idf/) [Yoav Gallant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoav-gallant/) > [I'd rather be wrong to set you free than be right to do you harm (162).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-gray/i-d-rather-be-wrong-to-set-you-free-than-be-right-to-do-you-harm-162/) [Claudia Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-gray/) > [I hope that all critical Muslims read the ruling in full, because it states very clearly what freedom of expression in Denmark is about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carsten-juste/i-hope-that-all-critical-muslims-read-the-ruling-in-full-because-it/) Carsten Juste > [We are living in an open world. There is a freedom of speech and, clearly, freedom of speculation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ehud-barak/we-are-living-in-an-open-world-there-is-a-freedom-of-speech-and/) [Ehud Barak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ehud-barak/) > [Nuclear weapons production and testing has involved extensive health and environmental damage … One of the most remarkable features of this damage has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arjun-makhijani/nuclear-weapons-production-and-testing-has-involved-extensive-health/) Arjun Makhijani > [When you think you're a really good person, you're actually capable of doing some real harm to people, either knowingly or unknowingly. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-tupper/when-you-think-you-re-a-really-good-person-you-re-actually-capable-of/) [James Tupper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-tupper/) > [When white supremacy becomes institutional, it begins to harm the very people who are not simply outside of it because of their race, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/when-white-supremacy-becomes-institutional-it-begins-to-harm-the-very/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [I don't be bringing harm to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmad-balshe/i-don-t-be-bringing-harm-to-people/) [Ahmad Balshe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmad-balshe/) > [As a Senator from Rhode Island, I wish that once - just once - the fossil fuel industry and their paid-for PR machine would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/as-a-senator-from-rhode-island-i-wish-that-once-just-once-the-fossil/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [I have to do this all the time - choosing what to print based on how it might come back to harm people from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-gira-grant/i-have-to-do-this-all-the-time-choosing-what-to-print-based-on-how-it/) [Melissa Gira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-gira-grant/) > [I think it's pathetic that a court of law cannot be in a vacuum of the legal system, without the influence of the public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-fuhrman/i-think-it-s-pathetic-that-a-court-of-law-cannot-be-in-a-vacuum-of/) [Mark Fuhrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-fuhrman/) > [“Strangers don't harm you ,But the people who says they care about you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/strangers-don-t-harm-you-but-the-people-who-says-they-care-about-you/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [Most harm is done by people who are awake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-hardy/most-harm-is-done-by-people-who-are-awake/) [Jeremy Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-hardy/) > [There is nothing wrong with listen too people on things, nothing wrong with liste too your boss in your career, teacher,family friends.However it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-nothing-wrong-with-listen-too-people-on-things-nothing-wrong/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People say I'm that and that, They may destroy my image but no matter what, it cause no harm for me, because still some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/precious-pano/people-say-i-m-that-and-that-they-may-destroy-my-image-but-no-matter/) Precious Pano ## More by Lionel Shriver > [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I’m a journalist, and journalists need news. 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Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“It breaks my heart. 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