Michael
Jul 31st 2009, 03:55 PM
J.S.Mill: On Liberty
This year is the 150th anniversary of the publication of John Stuart Mill's classic essay, On Liberty.
John Stuart Mill is the only nineteenth century liberal intellectual still widely read and discussed in the twenty-first century, thanks mainly to his book On Liberty, published 150 years ago. In his time, several of Mill’s books were influential, particularly his Principles of Political Economy, but it is On Liberty that has lasted. It has been continuously in print since 1859.
On Liberty’s longevity makes it the most-read classic of the liberal canon. It retains an audience because the dilemmas Mill writes about—especially over when to regulate speech and behaviour that lacks clear harm to others—are nineteenth-century versions of issues that remain controversial today. Mill speaks to the present as well as the past. Quotations from him still appear regularly in the world’s English-speaking media; his ideas proving useful and his name adding weight to arguments made more than 130 years after he died.
Despite the book’s enduring popularity and influence, On Liberty is not undisputed as a liberal sacred text. Liberals as well as conservatives contest its arguments. Mill was a utilitarian, favouring those policies likely to produce the greatest happiness. Liberals in the natural or human rights traditions see utilitarianism as an insecure foundation for freedom, fearing that it justifies sacrificing the freedoms of some for the benefit of the many (anti-terror laws, for example). In On Liberty, Mill needs sometimes complicated arguments to move from utilitarian premises to liberal conclusions. Classical liberals—their adjective a response to the then new ‘social’ liberalism Mill helped usher in—question the priority Mill gave to ‘individuality’ over other forms of life, and his critique of the role of custom in social life.
Article #1 (http://www.cis.org.au/Policy/winter09/norton_winter09.html)
This is almost perfect synopsis of who and what J.S.Mill is all about. :)
The main aim of On Liberty is to defend “one very simple principle” of individual liberty. As I understand it, the principle states that any mature individual – anyone who is “capable of rational persuasion” – has a basic moral right to complete liberty with respect to his or her “purely self-regarding conduct”. This basic right ought to be recognised and enforced as a legal right in every civil society. By implication, society has no legitimate authority to coercively interfere with the individual’s purely self-regarding choices. Government has no legitimate authority to force the individual to obey social laws that regulate self-regarding acts and omissions, for instance, and organised pressure groups have no legitimate authority to compel the individual to comply with social customs of self-regarding conduct.
Article #2 (http://www.philosophypress.co.uk/?p=333)
That one very simple principle is one which I have always been in complete agreement with. I cannot say the same for all of the writings, ideas and arguments of J.S.Mill, but certainly this paragraph sums up the reason that Mill is one of the most famous liberal thinkers.
Indeed, the entire gamut of J.S.Mill's political thought appears to show as much range and diversity as is found in contemporary liberalism. On the one hand there are statements as above where Mill argues for the primacy of liberty in all things, yet deeper in the text, Mill spends most of his time making exceptions to the rule and/or creating justifications for violating it. It is here that the 'nitty-gritty' of the conflict between the demands of liberty and the commands of society are addressed. This conflict between the 'needs of the one' vs the 'needs of the many' is with us still and defines much of our contemporary political discourse.
I think both articles do fairly good justice to both Mill and his famous essay. At the very least, if this thread serves to inspire only one person to read J.S.Mill, it will have served a good purpose I think. ;)
I might also point another J.S.Mill's essays entitled On the Subjugation of Women - is essentially an argument for the emancipation of women in society - written before the suffragette movement began - is another testament to J.S.Mill's true liberalism.
This year is the 150th anniversary of the publication of John Stuart Mill's classic essay, On Liberty.
John Stuart Mill is the only nineteenth century liberal intellectual still widely read and discussed in the twenty-first century, thanks mainly to his book On Liberty, published 150 years ago. In his time, several of Mill’s books were influential, particularly his Principles of Political Economy, but it is On Liberty that has lasted. It has been continuously in print since 1859.
On Liberty’s longevity makes it the most-read classic of the liberal canon. It retains an audience because the dilemmas Mill writes about—especially over when to regulate speech and behaviour that lacks clear harm to others—are nineteenth-century versions of issues that remain controversial today. Mill speaks to the present as well as the past. Quotations from him still appear regularly in the world’s English-speaking media; his ideas proving useful and his name adding weight to arguments made more than 130 years after he died.
Despite the book’s enduring popularity and influence, On Liberty is not undisputed as a liberal sacred text. Liberals as well as conservatives contest its arguments. Mill was a utilitarian, favouring those policies likely to produce the greatest happiness. Liberals in the natural or human rights traditions see utilitarianism as an insecure foundation for freedom, fearing that it justifies sacrificing the freedoms of some for the benefit of the many (anti-terror laws, for example). In On Liberty, Mill needs sometimes complicated arguments to move from utilitarian premises to liberal conclusions. Classical liberals—their adjective a response to the then new ‘social’ liberalism Mill helped usher in—question the priority Mill gave to ‘individuality’ over other forms of life, and his critique of the role of custom in social life.
Article #1 (http://www.cis.org.au/Policy/winter09/norton_winter09.html)
This is almost perfect synopsis of who and what J.S.Mill is all about. :)
The main aim of On Liberty is to defend “one very simple principle” of individual liberty. As I understand it, the principle states that any mature individual – anyone who is “capable of rational persuasion” – has a basic moral right to complete liberty with respect to his or her “purely self-regarding conduct”. This basic right ought to be recognised and enforced as a legal right in every civil society. By implication, society has no legitimate authority to coercively interfere with the individual’s purely self-regarding choices. Government has no legitimate authority to force the individual to obey social laws that regulate self-regarding acts and omissions, for instance, and organised pressure groups have no legitimate authority to compel the individual to comply with social customs of self-regarding conduct.
Article #2 (http://www.philosophypress.co.uk/?p=333)
That one very simple principle is one which I have always been in complete agreement with. I cannot say the same for all of the writings, ideas and arguments of J.S.Mill, but certainly this paragraph sums up the reason that Mill is one of the most famous liberal thinkers.
Indeed, the entire gamut of J.S.Mill's political thought appears to show as much range and diversity as is found in contemporary liberalism. On the one hand there are statements as above where Mill argues for the primacy of liberty in all things, yet deeper in the text, Mill spends most of his time making exceptions to the rule and/or creating justifications for violating it. It is here that the 'nitty-gritty' of the conflict between the demands of liberty and the commands of society are addressed. This conflict between the 'needs of the one' vs the 'needs of the many' is with us still and defines much of our contemporary political discourse.
I think both articles do fairly good justice to both Mill and his famous essay. At the very least, if this thread serves to inspire only one person to read J.S.Mill, it will have served a good purpose I think. ;)
I might also point another J.S.Mill's essays entitled On the Subjugation of Women - is essentially an argument for the emancipation of women in society - written before the suffragette movement began - is another testament to J.S.Mill's true liberalism.