Who Is John Stuart Mill On Liberty

John Stuart Mill's takes on a far more political approach in the discussion of human freedom. In his work, On Liberty, Mill focuses on the limits of individuality and the significance of a present minority. Mill first discusses the relationship between liberty and authority. Mill argues that liberty had a changing role when citizens equated liberty to limitations on government. As a result, civil liberty became associated with political rights, specifically the right to self-government. This new interpretation was celebrated as giving power to the people, with their voices represented in government- popular sovereignty. However, Mill argues that this rise of self-governance was a continuation of the old. Citizens merely exchanged one type of tyranny for another- the tyranny of the majority. The tyranny of the majority arises, because the will of the people is "dumbed down" to the will of the majority of active citizens. Governments effectively works in tandem with the tyranny of the majority, because a simple majority is the set benchmark for many political procedures. For example, the conservative revision of the ACA passed the House with a simple majority. Legislation doesn't require unanimity; the majority's …show more content…
He states that when an individual acts beyond the harm principle, society has the right to punish him/her. What's interesting is that Mill explains that if the act isn't punishable under law than public opinion will serve as just punishment. Mill seems to support scrutiny of "harmful" individuals. Although, Mill does allow for some coercion, it achieves pragmitism. Obviously, individual action has to have limits, but it would nearly impossible to enforce limitations without state interference. What is more troubling is that in Mill's work, racism also plays a role. Mill states that society's rules should be imposed on "undeveloped races," because they have to be