Mill's Principle Of Utility

I argue that while Mill’s principle of utility supports freedom in the ways he claims, government interference is necessary in order for freedom of thought and expression to support Mill’s utility. In this essay, I will briefly discuss Mill’s principle of utility. Then, I will discuss Mill’s liberty principle and outline his two main arguments in favor of freedom of speech and ideas. Next, I will explain how Mill argues that freedom of thought and expression support his principle of utility. Finally, I will advance an argument for why government interference is necessary for freedom of thought and expression to increase utility (in the way Mills claims).
To begin with, Mill’s principle of utility claims that we ought to judge actions and …show more content…
We all ought to have the right to, and be encouraged to share our ideas, even if they contradict that which is widely believed. While many argue that we ought to silence different, or less accurate thoughts and expressions, Mill advances two main arguments in favor of freedom of thoughts and ideas. First, he argues that silencing different opinions is harmful for the principle of utility, because it actually decreases utility. If we suppress and silence thoughts and ideas that we think are wrong, we could be silencing ideas that are actually correct. We ought to discuss these different thoughts and prove them wrong, which will ultimately strengthen our knowledge and confidence in the truth. On the other hand, if we discover that a theory we previously believed to be true is actually false, we can find the truth, and adopt it as our new …show more content…
Education and learning is one important way by which we maximize our higher faculties. If we allow the government to provide schools for everyone, then the entire society gains an education, rather than only those who can afford to pay for it. If we all have an education, and are taught to form our own ideas and think critically about those around us, this gives us a base from which we can meaningfully contribute to conversations. On the other hand, Mill’s argument for freedom of thought and expression really only aids utility if we are capable of devising and expressing our thoughts and ideas. If each member of a society attains a base level of education, then each person can come up with their own theories and ideas, and can contribute them to the world. If parts of a society are uneducated, freedom of thought and expression no longer supports utility because they will be incapable of expressing their thoughts and ideas, and even less capable of engaging in high level discussions to discern the truth. Finally, government-provided institutions promote the individuality, and diversity of ideas with which Mill concerns himself. If a portion of society cannot afford their education, these people will likely be excluded from the process of discussion of ideas which Mills endorses. If these people are all members of a certain social class, then by not allowing our government to provide