Communist Manifesto And John Stuart Mill

Great Essays
Mill’s On Liberty and Marx’s The Communist Manifesto are both political works about how they believe the government should be run in which they both believe that the people should not be oppressed by the government or other people. However, both differ in their opinions of what type of form a government should be; Mill believes that the government should take on the form of liberalism where it plays a limited role on society that emphasizes on individual freedom and freedom from tyranny of the majority. Marx on the other hand, believes that communism is an ideal form for a government where it will emphasize equality for the people that will eliminate exploitation among one group of people over another. While Mill believes human nature is detached …show more content…
He believes that tyranny of the majority may allow society to infringe on individual freedom will lead to conformity and oppresses and threatens an individual’s freedom, helping it to promote social censorship. For example, Mill stated that tyranny of the majority is more horrible than political oppression because it will affect and permeate people’s lives more, (Mill, Pg. 4) This shows that regular people such as family, friends, colleagues, and classmates will have more of a direct impact on an individual than people at the political or national level, showing that it is not the government or society that needs to be in check, but the other individuals or group of people that are harming the individual. Mill explains that people who wants freedom from social tyranny has to resist social conformity and moral behaviors that does not fit with their ideals, beliefs, or lifestyles, in which society at this point is a tyrant that enslaves the soul. Protection must be made on the basis of principle and can only stop if the individual do harm to society …show more content…
However, Mill does not believe it is in the nature of people of backward society or in the nature of children to be free because these are the types of people who needs to be educated first before they have the opportunity and chance to be free or else it will be futile for them to improve and progress at this stage as humans. Marx on the other hand, believes that the Socialist revolution can only happen in industrialized country. It is not that the nature of the people in the country are of a better natures than others, but because the country themselves has the capital necessary to sustain the people. This is refuting Marx’s optimistic belief on human nature and his claim that people are inherently good to maintain and sustain a society through their moral and work ethics that they do not need the government’s help to maintain their communities. Marx probably view that by taking down the bourgeoisie and capitalists, the ruling class now will be the working class in which the society can still sustain itself because the government still can support the people through the capital the government has an the industries and commerce that are still producing goods to sell. However, communism in

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The world is a vast place, filled with numerous individuals, all characterized by unique qualities. John Stuart Mill, a 19th century writer, philosopher, and businessman who placed great importance on those who find and offer new ideas, theorized that the two primary qualities in life were originality and genius. An original person is one who is independent of all others and is unique in all that they do, and someone who displays genius is unusually intelligent and creative. In “Genius and Originality”, Mill suggests that these qualities are indispensable in society since they prevent life and knowledge from becoming static, and without them, society cannot progress. He proposes that conformity is preventing genius and originality from flourishing, while freedom allows them to thrive.…

    • 1197 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Communism protects human rights while fascism acknowledges them selectively. Although Marx believed that private property was at the center of the majority of problems that humans in society were facing, he and Locke had many similarities on idea of property than Locke and Mussolini would ever have. Both Locke and Marx believe that human rights are essential to the growth and development of the individual but property serves as a different purpose for each. For Locke, the individual must own property in order to help them sustain a sense of worth and grow through that notion. He believes that individuals should own property in the same manner that one would own property in a capitalist society, in that property is good, private, and belongs to the individual and nobody…

    • 1598 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    John Stuart Mill’s philosophy contained a limited government or the notion of laissez-faire (hands off)! Concluding that men should be given civil rights as long as no harm was done to anyone. John Locke claimed all mankind was equal, believing that State of Nature has natural rights to freedom, liberty and justice. Meanwhile, Hobbes posed the notion that man was inherently evil and needed a monarchical government but both were against the Divine Right and developed the ‘Social Contract’(Carol 2017).…

    • 376 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    But the people made sure that majority would never abuse their power again. Mill was able to help the people achieve self-improvement and have another Revolution. Mill managed to introduce new ideas of tyranny and give the people some sort of protection from the political rulers. The new concept was called the tyranny of the majority. The people came up with…

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mill saw the problem with modern society as resulting from the power of both the tyranny of the majority but also the tyranny of public opinion. He believed that public opinion had grown too strong to the point where “At present individuals are lost in the crowd. In politics it is almost a triviality to say that public opinion now rules the world.” (On Liberty, chapter III). The “lost in the crowd” metaphor is a powerful one that illustrates Mill’s view.…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A ruler or power is seen as a necessity to protect the weak from threats external and internal alike, but more often than not becomes a force against those that were meant to be protected. Still applying protection but also a sort of tyrannical pressure over the ruled. These tyrannies directly display themselves in separate yet simultaneous forms, forcing the masses at large to separate from the government and seek its own protections and/or liberties. The first tyranny discussed is that of expression, or lack thereof, in which a government silenced the expression of thoughts and opinions.…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Many individuals believe liberty is tied to democracy, and political choice is extremely important to Mill. Mill believes that the best form of government is Representative Government. In Representative Government, an individual has the ability to protect himself and his views. As Mill says, “Let a person have nothing to do for his country, and he will not care for it.” Meaning that if you do not let an individual have a choice, then he will have no motivation to be productive for society as a whole.…

    • 2226 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    First the citizens must give themselves up to the law of the society, they must allow restrictions and limits to be placed upon them for the society to run effectively. Secondly the citizens must put themselves under the protection of the society and trust that they will be defended and taken care of. When this trust is given to the society and the government then they can effectively protect and ensure “the peace, safety, and public good of the people. This is contrary to what Mill would argue as he does not believe citizens should submit themselves to society and give away their rights. He believes that as an individual citizen you should fight for your opinion and never give into society.…

    • 1161 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In a democratic society, it is generally considered the Government's role to promote morality and justice within its citizens and seek to restrict supposedly immoral and unjust acts. Thus if an act is to be considered immoral, it seems obvious to suggest that the government is justified in restricting it regardless of whether it is harmful to others. In ‘On Liberty' John Stuart Mill discusses the harm principle as: "The only purpose for which power can be rightly exercised over any member of a civilized community against his will, is to prevent harm to others” (68). Mill’s states that a government or society does not have the right to prevent people from actions unless the actions are harmful to others in society. Although government intervention…

    • 1190 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    In other words, if an individual rejects or contradicts the ideas expressed by the community, the community should be able to force that individual to submit to their opinions. It is at this point in which Rousseau and Mill differ. This act of forcing conformity would be seen as a form of tyranny to Mill who values the freedom of the individual. In order for society to progress, individual freedoms must always be expressed foremost. Indeed, Mill agrees that man should not behave in ways that would harm others but they should still be free to do as they wish.…

    • 1838 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Indeed, both Marx and Mill felt that freedom or the struggle for it played a part in societal progress. Furthermore, while Mill had no qualms against the government, they both believed that excessive government intervention did not benefit society. Indeed, Marx believed that violence was necessary for a societal transition to occur and Mill also justified violence in the name of liberty. Moreover, while Marx was critical of Mill’s views on the distribution of wealth, they were both against the concept of trickle-down economics (even if the descriptive term had not existed at the…

    • 1298 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Mill’s’ essay also argues that freedom of speech and diversifying opinions act as a fuel that drives social progress. Mill states, “... the only unfailing and permanent source of improvement is liberty, since by it there are as many possible independent centres of improvement as there are individuals” (Mill 65). One can gather that Mill believes that liberty is necessary for improvement and the more liberty present in individual members of society the more persons influencing change. This is an important message for our society to receive and is in accordance with our liberal democratic society. It demonstrates the importance of individuals and how their freedoms positively contribute to society because, as Mill bluntly states, without individuality…

    • 2454 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mill has a prominent theory of liberty which he wrote about in his book 'On Liberty' in which the aim of the text is elaborate on and to defend the principle on which 'the nature and limits of the power which can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual' (Gray 2013), and he would then go on and describe liberty as 'the importance, to man and society, of a large variety in types of character, and of giving full freedom to human nature to expand itself in innumerable and conflicting directions.' He argues that the only authoritative power that can exert power upon people is that of society itself. He again argues that the times where one's liberty can be interfered with by society or certain individuals are for reasons of self-protection. He finds that when a certain law or any public opinion may be good for one's own good and their welfare, but that this not mean that these laws or opinions can be used to coerce others and that coercion is only acceptable when an individual may cause harm to another (Gingell et al 2000). Mill's theories were influenced by his father James Mill, and by fellow philosopher Jeremy Bentham and Bentham's subsequent philosophy of Utilitarianism.…

    • 2041 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Even though The Declaration of Independence says we must pursue our own happiness, I say we shouldn’t because, as John Stuart says “Those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness; Aiming thus at something else, they find happiness by the way.” Darrin M. McMahon states in his article in In Pursuit of Unhappiness that happiness is more than pleasure and good things.(11) It is morally to dwell on your own happiness is sure to make you unhappy. In his article, Mill claims that you should be more productive and do things that matter.…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    John Stuart mill in his autobiography “A Crisis in My Mental History One Stage Onward” (1909-14),argues that you should not look for happiness but you should help others and on the way you will find your happiness. He supports his claim by first saying that if we focus on others mankind will be better and we all would be able to find happiness. Mill’s purpose is to show that if we all were nice to each other and helped each other the world would be better. He creates a serious tone for his American audience. What I thought of John Stuart mill’s autobiography.…

    • 173 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays