John Stuart Mill

Question 1

What is Mill’s liberty principle?

Answer 1

The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised is to prevent harm to others.

His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant.

Question 2

What is Mill’s opinion on drunkenness?

Answer 2

anyone who has been convicted of violence to others when drunk should, according to Mill, be prohibited from drinking.

Here, for Mill, the danger of harm outweighs an individual’s right to drink alcohol

Question 3

How does Mill propose we deal with ignorant voters?

Answer 3

He argues that certain people, at least temporarily, are to be excluded from the franchise. This includes those unable to ‘read, write, and, I will add, perform the common operations of arithmetic’. Mill argues that certain people who are especially well qualified to exercise their judgement should be given more than one vote. He feels that the particularly intelligent or

Question 4

What is Mill’s worry with the votes of the working class?

Answer 4

He worries that out of ignorance and self interest they will vote for policies that benefit them at the cost of slowing down the economy and edging the country towards disaster

Question 5

What is James Fitzjames Stephens critique of Mill’s liberty principle?

Answer 5

Stephen argued that is it absurd to think that liberty is always good in itself. Rather, he claims, it is like fire. It would be irrational to ask whether fire is good in itself; it all depends on the purpose to which it is put

Question 6

Why does Mill argue for liberty?

Answer 6

Even though people do make mistakes, individuals are still more likely to be right about what would make them happy than anyone else, the exercise of freedom is vital to the development of human nature in the long run, the more someone develops the more valuable they become

Question 7

What is Mill’s intrinsic good?

Answer 7

Liberty is Mill’s intrinsic good