Although raised as a strict utilitarian, by the time he reached his early twenties John Stuart Mill was struggling with a belief that utilitarianism was too unemotional a philosophy and that it failed to take adequate account of the higher pleasures of human beings.
On Liberty can be seen as Mill’s attempt to broaden the meaning of utility and to demonstrate that utilitarianism could offer strong protection to rights if it was interpreted widely enough. Mill’s belief that individuality is something to be protected and nurtured is also seen in On Liberty as he writes with disgust of Victorian society’s tendency to crush any thought or action that could be interpreted as non-conformist.
Liberty v Tyranny
In On Liberty Mill vehemently rejects attempts, either through legal mechanisms or social pressure, to curtail people’s opinions and behaviour. Mill uses a utilitarian approach to justify the value he places on liberty as he attempts to show the value to both individuals and society of personal liberty. In particular, Mill links liberty with the ability for progression and the avoidance of social stagnation.
According to On Liberty, liberty of opinion is invaluable for two reasons. First, an opinion that is unpopular might still be correct. Secondly, if the opinion is wrong, refuting it will allow people to better understand their options. Mill believes that liberty of action is valuable for parallel reasons. The non-conformist may be correct or may, at least, have a style of living which suits him best if not everyone else.
The Harm Principle
According to Mill, there is only one legitimate reason for the exercise of power over individuals:
‘That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others’.
Mill’s belief that the only limiting factor of liberty should be harm of either physical or moral compulsion is what is known as the ‘harm principle’. If one person is harmed by another then his sovereignty over himself is impaired because sovereignty is exercised either through action or judgement. Children and those adults who are incapable of taking care of themselves can be interfered with beyond the harm principle for, otherwise, they may inadvertently harm themselves.
Mill also, even more controversially, suggests that despotism may be preferable to a state of barbarians if the end result is the betterment of the people.
Criticism of Mill
On Liberty has been criticised for being overly vague on the limits of liberty and for placing too much emphasis on the rights of the individual. It has further been suggested that it does not make a useful distinction between actions that only harm oneself and actions that harm others.
However, bearing these criticisms in mind, On Liberty does provide an impassioned plea for tolerance and a necessary recognition that it is not possible to be completely sure that any particular way is the best way to live.
On Liberty and Other Essays by John Stuart Mill
ISBN 978-0199535736, Oxford Paperbacks, 2008, £6.99, pp 632
