365: On Liberty by John Stuart Mill

On Liberty by John Stuart Mill

I've arranged this list to be in a more-or-less random order. It is a happy coincidence that John Stuart Mill's essay "On Liberty" is the first book on this blog.

While raised by his father to be an intellectual heavy-weight, and to promote the philosophy of utilitarianism, Mill tempered some of this Enlightenment-era rationality with help of his conservative friends Samuel Coleridge and Thomas Carlyle.

Based on his own experience with depression Mill re-defined the meaning of happiness in the utilitarian philosophy. For Mill's father and Jeremy Bentham happiness was a form of hedonistic pleasure. For Mill, influenced by the Romantic writings of his era, happiness meant more than mere pleasure. Happiness could spring from virtue and moderation as well as sex and wealth.

In "On Liberty" Mill clearly states his argument that humanity progresses. Humanity has a responsibility to create a better, happier world.

"He who lets the world, or his own portion of it, choose his plan of life for him has no need of any other faculty than the ape-like one of imitation. He who chooses his plan for himself employs all his faculties. He must use observation to see, reasoning and judgment to foresee, activity to gather materials for decision, discrimination to decide, and when he has decided, firmness and self-control to hold his deliberate decision. And these qualities he requires and exercises exactly in proportion as the part of his conduct which he determines according to his own judgment and feelings is a large one. It is possible that he might be guided in some good path, and kept out of harm's way, without any of these things. But what will be his comparative worth as a human being?"

One of the most important responsibilities for Mill's version of the progressive is to take responsibility for himself (and herself, Mill was a champion of women's rights), and by extension, to take responsibility for his/her community and government.

Don't be put off by Mill's unwieldy writing. While his writing is enough to give fits to modern-day readers, his ideas are still an essential component of progressivism.

Why this is liberal/progressive: Mill's arguments for intellectual freedom and freedom of assembly are essential for understanding modern day progressives. Both protesting and unions are rooted in the concept of freedom of assembly, and the fight for intellectual freedom is championed by progressive organizations like the American Library Association and the ACLU. Mill's argument for the "harm principle" (I should be free to do it as long as it harms no one else) explains why victimless crimes (prostitution, marijuana use, etc.) should be decriminalized. Some libertarians and "classical" liberals might claim that modern-day liberalism has lost the lead on advocating for individual liberties. But, note that Mill's guiding light is to do what's best for society. It just so happens that strong protections for individual liberties are what's best for society as a whole.

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On Liberty (Optimized for Kindle)