John Stuart Mill (1859)

John Stuart Mill's major work on liberal philosophy, is his On Liberty, (1859).  Government is not a matter of natural rights or social contract but is to be measured according to the utility achieved  on behalf of humans. Government and the State are to deliver happiness, in such a way that development is to be a goal both for the individual and for society as a whole. Individual progress is to defended and with it social progress.  The defense of the individual will allow creativity and social and intellectual progress. 

Key Questions for Mill's On Liberty (1859)

1. Does Mill's conception of individuality conflict with liberal principles?  
2. Is Mill actually a restrictive liberal in that he upholds individuality at the expense of a common good?  

Mill's Utilitarianism, (1861), combines with Bentham's writings as a persuasive argument on behalf of 19th century liberalism as theory and as practice.  Utilitarianism is defined as a morally right action that produces the most good. The correct or right action is to be appraised for the good that it achieves. A utilitarian position seeks to maximize the overall good both for others as for one's self. A critique of Bentham and Mill is that they emphasize the pursuit of pleasure as associated with this common good. This brings about the formula that will have influence on John Rawls in the late 20th century:  ‘the greatest amount of good for the greatest number’.  (see the entry for Mill and Utilitarianism in the Stanford Encylopedia of Philosophy)

Utilitarianism also intends to uphold impartiality in its project.

Key Questions for Mill's Utilitarianism (1861)

1. Is Mill's utilitarianism a practical decision rule, or a basis of moral right?
2. Does Mill succeed in establishing the principle of utility as a basis of morality?

Mill's essay, Subjection of Women (1869) was his contribution to his campaign on behalf of women's rights, suffrage and equality of education. However, despite this advocacy, Mill is still resigned to advocating and accepting the domestic role and a limited occupational role.  Mill may recognize the problem of custom and tradition but fails to fully articulate how and why custom needs to be overcome in addition to the passage of progressive legislation. 

Key Questions for Mill's The Subjection of Women (1869)

1. Are standards of excellence in liberal society are based on a male model?  If so, is that an appropriate model?
2. What would a society based on the equality of the sexes look like?  In other words, have we achieved it, and if not, what would it look like? 
3. In what ways is the concept of women's equality compatible with utilitarian philosophy? 

A challenge to Mills' preference for representative government is direct democracy, as is practiced in some New England town halls.  This New Rules  website provides a rationale for the preference for direct democracy.

Mills, in his writing on Utilitarianism (Cohen, 602) is critical of Epicureans.  But who was Epicurus and what was his philosophy. This video documentary by Simon de Botton has a useful discussion.