"On Liberty" is John Stuart Mill's Most
famous work and one of the finest and most moving essay on liberty
in English.
In "On Liberty" Mill
thought that the evolution of government from tyranny to rule of the people
would not necessarily solve the problem of liberty, because tyranny has less
means of escape. Therefore protection against political tyranny is not enough ànd also protection against tyranny of
prevailing opinion and feeling.
According to Mill Society is completely free when: absolute freedom of opinion and sentiment is guaranteed.
Silencing
the opinion of a minority is wrong and harmful, because the other idea might be
true.
“All
silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility”.
The
human brain and human experience/knowledge is limited and can only grasp some
aspects of truth. Therefore Mill holds that liberty is not complete unless there is no discussion possible.
Every opinion is useful.
Always
question and discuss what truth is, never take it for granted to keep truth vital
and let it survive.
Three
grounds for the necessity of freedom of opinion according to Mill:
1.
Any opinion we silence may be true and when you
silence it we assume our own infallibility.
2.
If the silenced opinion sounds completely
wrong, it may be partly true, because rarely any pinion is completely true.
3.
If the prevailing opinion is the complete
truth, it still needs the challenge of free discussion.
Truth is
always unfinished, tentative, and temporary, subject to new data and
experiences. = dynamic process of colliding opposites
Liberty:
everyone can interpret experience in his own way and moral faculties. This is why Mill thinks that variety
is as important as freedom.
Industrial
civilization creates a uniformity that makes it difficult for people to remain
individuals. “Genius”
people who can improve the world will be held back, so liberty is essential to
societal progression.
Mill thinks that liberty is needed for a strong state because the worth of a state is no more than the
worth of the individuals composing it.
Mill was a utilitarian and pragmatist He felt he
was not qualified to commit himself to any economic perspective. He would base
his choice between capitalism and socialism on which one will give the greatest
amount of human liberty and spontaneity.
In regards to individual property Mill holds in "On Liberty" that everyone
should own property. Ultimate form: the means of production are not property,
but the collective owning of the capital with which they carry on their
operations. Working under managers they choose themselves and they can remove
themselves.
Problem
of socialism according to Mill:
Mill saw
that socialism would fail if it gave up its liberal heritage and embraced the
philosophy of the all-powerful state. In "On Liberty" Mill only regarded British and French socialists. Mill
ignored doctrines of revolution and dictatorship ànd idealist socialist.
Socialism
would demand a higher moral and intellectual level of the people than
capitalism.
Mill thinks that an
economically all-powerful state cannot be politically liberal in relation to
the individual. Cooperation within working places and competition between
working places.
