Mill V. Mill's On Liberty

In the past, people worried about one main problem: the perpetual struggle between themselves and the government. The people wanted protection against those with the power to control them. However, Mill worried about a much subtler yet even more devastating problem: the tyranny of the majority. While people were more tolerable since rulers’ powers were limited, they failed to see another authority, an authority that controlled them without their knowledge—the tyranny of the majority. Many times, this “majority” opinion developed, without society even realizing it, through the power of custom. Custom works through people and societies in the form of preferences, whether they be social, political, or religious. However, according to J.S. Mill’s On Liberty, we have a duty to strive towards reason, not simply control others with our likes and dislikes. We accomplish this by following the harm principle. The harm …show more content…
To Mills, liberty means having personal autonomy—living in a way each man thinks is best, even if society does not agree. Every man should live the way he thinks is best just as every man should say what he believes is true because individuality “is itself a necessary part and condition” and contains “intrinsic worth” (Mill, p. 54). The majority cannot immediately identify the intrinsic worth of most things, such as an original idea. If the majority could immediately identify the worth of the idea, then it would not be considered original. These original ideas may only be developed through a man’s “conduct which he determines according to his own judgment” (Mill, p. 56). Even if there is no truth discovered from these ideas, it not about what he discovered but about how he is living—using reasoning, judgment, and making conscious