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Utilitarianism, On Liberty and Considerations on Representative Government
paperback philosophy textbook
481 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1984
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About the author
John Stuart Mill
2,020 books1,971 followersJohn Stuart Mill, English philosopher, political economist, civil servant and Member of Parliament, was an influential liberal thinker of the 19th century. He was an exponent of utilitarianism, an ethical theory developed by Jeremy Bentham, although his conception of it was very different from Bentham's.
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November 26, 2018
This review is for the essay On Liberty, one of the three contained in this edition. Mill starts off with a precise and agreeable definition of what liberty is. In a sentence, liberty is the ability to express one's opinions and actions without imposing restrictions upon another's ability to act or think freely. He delves into the concept of the importance of individuality and the necessity that people be able to behave in an eccentric manner. After all it is those free thinker that oppose customs that contribute to the progression of society. The second maximum of not adhering to custom and choosing freely reminded me of The Undiscovered Self written some 70 years later by Jung. "He who acts according to custom makes no choice."
Th second part of the essay discusses what restrictions on liberty should be imposed by the State and by society. He goes so far as saying that any person who acts independent of society and whose actions are solely confined to the agents own affairs should have no one breach upon such actions. It is clarified by giving numerous examples such as: a police officer should not be reprimanded for simply being intoxicated unless the officer is on duty as then he is doing society a disservice. He also briefly states the infractions of liberty husband's impose on their wives foreshadowing a future essay on the proliferation of equal rights for women in his essay The Subjection of Women.
He concludes this long essay with what lengths the government should go to to ensure individual liberty and how much power they should have in limiting them. It makes me wonder how J.S. Mill would react to the surveillance society that we are apart of today. I think he would agree to limits on government surveillance more so than there is today because when a person knows they are being observed they change their behavior to be more customary and Mill would rebuke at such a thing. A very good essay that society should remember from time to time when society and governments are working to ossify it's population.
Quotables:
"Human nature is not a machine to be built after a model."
"One whose desires and impulses are not his own, has no character."
"To prosper intellectually one must break the yoke of authority."
"Humankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, then by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest."
Th second part of the essay discusses what restrictions on liberty should be imposed by the State and by society. He goes so far as saying that any person who acts independent of society and whose actions are solely confined to the agents own affairs should have no one breach upon such actions. It is clarified by giving numerous examples such as: a police officer should not be reprimanded for simply being intoxicated unless the officer is on duty as then he is doing society a disservice. He also briefly states the infractions of liberty husband's impose on their wives foreshadowing a future essay on the proliferation of equal rights for women in his essay The Subjection of Women.
He concludes this long essay with what lengths the government should go to to ensure individual liberty and how much power they should have in limiting them. It makes me wonder how J.S. Mill would react to the surveillance society that we are apart of today. I think he would agree to limits on government surveillance more so than there is today because when a person knows they are being observed they change their behavior to be more customary and Mill would rebuke at such a thing. A very good essay that society should remember from time to time when society and governments are working to ossify it's population.
Quotables:
"Human nature is not a machine to be built after a model."
"One whose desires and impulses are not his own, has no character."
"To prosper intellectually one must break the yoke of authority."
"Humankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, then by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest."
November 18, 2014
A critical chapter in the history of political philosophy. Reading the book again after having read about wars and postcolonialism - made me wonder how awfully wrong and catastrophic can a harmless, eloquent rational prose become over time.
Mill clarifies that reminding a traveller of his goals does not imply that he must ignore other signposts - much the way utilitarianism doesn't preclude other ethical goals. Yet his worries often seem focussed on the welfare of the political class he belonged to. It seems rather surprising - living in the world of post-war democracies today - that the upper classes did not consider it inappropriate to claim openly that they deserve the right to govern people.
However, Mill is also clear that a political system that doesn't treat its subjects as machines is guaranteed to let the power eventually be given to the subject. This is something that, in my opinion, is not talked about so much when talking of J.S. Mill. While postcolonial authors often blame Mill's Utilitarianism for the widespread oppression of Asia in 19th and 20th centuries, the truth remains that West came out of the time when Mill had jotted down the tendencies of his political class. If his writings reflect in the East in our times - then it probably is because of the phase which postcolonial world has entered into rather than the writings which are largely irrelevant in our times.
The rational framework which Mill put together the political theory in terms of is still something that must inspire many. What we often have to do is to separate the tendencies of the time from the genius of certain minds.
Mill clarifies that reminding a traveller of his goals does not imply that he must ignore other signposts - much the way utilitarianism doesn't preclude other ethical goals. Yet his worries often seem focussed on the welfare of the political class he belonged to. It seems rather surprising - living in the world of post-war democracies today - that the upper classes did not consider it inappropriate to claim openly that they deserve the right to govern people.
However, Mill is also clear that a political system that doesn't treat its subjects as machines is guaranteed to let the power eventually be given to the subject. This is something that, in my opinion, is not talked about so much when talking of J.S. Mill. While postcolonial authors often blame Mill's Utilitarianism for the widespread oppression of Asia in 19th and 20th centuries, the truth remains that West came out of the time when Mill had jotted down the tendencies of his political class. If his writings reflect in the East in our times - then it probably is because of the phase which postcolonial world has entered into rather than the writings which are largely irrelevant in our times.
The rational framework which Mill put together the political theory in terms of is still something that must inspire many. What we often have to do is to separate the tendencies of the time from the genius of certain minds.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews