J S Mill
- Intro: it is said that if anybody is liberal, it is Mill.
- Context: during 18th century industrial revo thinkers like Locke and Adam smith gave the idea to free people and market from central authority. But no one could give a comprehensive idea of liberty as freedom on oneself and from society like mill in his book on liberty.
- On reviving utilitarianism:
- Classical liberalism/utilitarianism postulated utility as the core value of liberalism
- Mill was inspired from Alexis de Tocqueville in understanding the sociological limitations of utilitarianism that lacked in human values
- Bentham had perverted the idea of liberalism by establishing utilitarianism as the core philosophy of liberalism. It was majoritarian and went against the categorical imperative of Kant.
- Utilitarianism resulted in exploitation of workers and increased socio economic inequality
- Thomas Carlyle described it as a “pig’s philosophy.”
- Mill revised it and placed liberty as core idea of liberalism.
- It is better to be a man dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied”-mill
- Bentham had quantified happiness through his concept of “felicific calculus.” There was no concept of quality. Man getting pleasure from poetry is not superior to man getting pleasure from happiness.
- Mill is inspired from Socrates and Plato and brings idealism in utilitarianism . He says pleasure and happiness are diff. The former is materialistic and latter is spiritualistic. Says pleasure is both quantitative and qualitative. Pushpin is not greater than poetry.
- utilitarianism is criticized by saying only two actions cannot define actions of a man. There is also feeling of sacrifice in man.
- utility in widest sense must guide the actions of man.- Mill (here utility means happiness along with pleasure)
- It is said mill was the Peter who denied his master. But he eventually strengthened utilitarianism by making it more humane
- on liberty:
- first person to give liberal concept of liberty.
- initially people understood liberty as freedom to make property and hence liberty was a justification for capitalism.
- Says- over himself and over his body, man is sovereign.
- For mill, Liberty is transcendental utility.
- Democracy is not needed for majority but for the protection of speech of minority.
- But mill emphasized on other forms of liberty that need to be protected as well- freedom of speech and expression, and freedom from exploitative customs and traditions.
- He gives a defense of absolute freedom of speech and expression.
- State must give three freedoms
- Speech and expression
- To act on one's ideas
- To form associations with like minded persons
- He defended liberty because he realized that there could be no self development in its absence.
- supports negative liberty, compares individual to a plant who must be free to grow to develop himself.
- No state becomes great by dwarfing it's own people. -mill
- On speech and expression- he says this is the most special gift of god to humans. Only humans and not animals have capacity to resolve their conflicts through dialogue. This freedom can be restricted if it harms the other person who is rational and not hyper sensitive.
- To quote Mill - the silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility.”
- Through dialogue/speech we can arrive at truth. Suppressing truth is useless as truth is bound to emerge. Only truth can help person lead a good life. If we deny a person truth, we deny him his right to lead a good life
- On how much liberty state must provide gives harm principle - self regarding and others regarding action. Allows state to intervene only in others regarding actions. Any restriction other than preventing harm to others are restrictions for the sake of restrictions without justification.
- mill on democracy-
- Advocated deliberative democracy. Says democracy is not about numbers but who has the right argument. Hence freedom of speech and expression is essential to realism the essence of democracy.
- There should be democratic society before introduction of democratic political system. People should have civic culture.
- During his time there was demand for voting rights to workers. He was fearful that if illiterate and poor is get right to vote it will turn into Mobocracy
- He did not want tyranny of majority on minority hence he suggested reforms to offset the consequences of extension of right to go to the working class
- Weighted voting
- Plural voting- based on number of property
- Proportional re-presentation with adequate representation to capitalist class
- Giving greater power to house of lords.
- for Mill democracy was an end in itself
- Champion of democracy as he gives theory of representative govt.
- He has also been called as a reluctant democrat as he is not in favour of introducing democracy in colonies where it is needed he most.
- why reluctant democrat:
- not in favour of introducing in colonies. In the words of mill : benevolent despotism is best for barbarians. Democracy is not a free gift to be distributed. People had waged long struggle for democracy.
- There should be democratic society before introducing democracy.
- People should have civil culture.
- Critics:
Ernest Barker: calls him prophet of empty liberty and abstract individualism
- As mill is a negative liberal but Barker is positive liberal
- Arbitrary distinction between self and others regarding actions that give huge scope for state intervention.
- mill believes in max liberty but understands the -ve consequences of it and hence allows state’s intervention
- he allows state to prevent a person from ending his life by bringing metaphysical concepts like real will.
- this kind of contrast because mill belong to the age of transition. People had started to realize the limitation of Laissez faire but the idea of positive liberty or the idea of welfare state had not emerged.
- Book- on subjugation of women
- Says we have abolished all forms of slavery but slavery of women continues. It is so universal that it appears natural.
- after Plato , mill was the first political philosopher who believed in the equality of men and women
- supports voting rights to women
- The legal subordination of one sex to the other is wrong in itself and one of the chief hindrances to human improvement. It ought to be replaced by principle of perfect equality, admitting no power or privilege on the one side and no disability on the other-Mill
- Conclusion: Mill’s thought on liberty, state, democracy and governance continue to be the founding pillars of modern democratic societies.