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About Harm
To avoid harm, we need to reduce risks. Harm is determined by group consensus. We each have our own values based upon our life time experiences. But, going against group consensus can be harmful to the individual.
Anyone can inflict harm at any time. Most people have no interest in doing harm. Some people do harm for their own personal gain. Perceived injustice is the primary reason to intentionally do harm in my opinion.
Some harm is unintentional. Some harm is a reaction to perceived (or actual) injustice. Most harm is the result of the inertia of history and the cycle of retaliation for past transgressions. The most basic cause of harm is based upon human greed. An unwillingness to treat others as equals and share the bounty of the planet in a just manner.
The issue is how do we arrange things to reduce and eventually eliminate the reasons for harm. Specifically intentional harm: crime, war, over population and climate change.
People do not have a natural right to cause harm. Each individual has the right to self defense. Collectively, society has the obligation to defend each citizen from harm - the primary function of government.
The key characteristic for judging actions is harm. To reduce risk, we need to avoid harm and reduce the opportunity for harm to occur. That is where we need to focus our efforts.
Examples of harm: