John Stuart Mill Flashcards
liberalism
when was he alive?
1806-73
who was his father and what did he do?
James Mill, he was a utilitarian philosopher (greatest good for greatest number)
what did J S Mill do?
he was a politician and a campaigner
he bridged classical and modern liberalism
what type of liberal was he?
he represented transitional liberalism + developmental individualism
what was his most significant work?
On Liberty- 1859
what did his work say?
‘negative freedom’- freedom was an absence of restraint
what was his harm principle?
an individuals actions should always be tolerated unless they harmed others
what divides were humans separated into?
‘self-regarding’- did not impinge on freedom of others, tolerated
‘other regarding’- harmed others’ freedom, not tolerated by a liberal state
what was good about diverse opinions?
ensured new ideas emerged + bad ideas were exposed via open, rational debate
what did he see liberty as?
a ‘natural right’ and the engine of ongoing human development
what was Mill’s human nature?
it was not the ‘finished article’, and there was room for improvement
what did he ponder about liberty?
he did not want to liberate individuals as they were at present, he wondered what they could become- ‘individuality’, developmental individualism
what was his quote about satisfaction?
it was ‘better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a pig satisfied’
what was his quote about support for liberty?
it had to be ‘grounded on the permanent interests of man as a progressive being’
what was he concerned with (regarding govt.)
‘government by consent’ would be compromised if the wishes of some individual citizens were overwhelmed by the wishes of most individual citizens
what could a democratic state create?
‘tyranny of the majority’
views on society?
less developed countries were the ‘white man’s burden’- should implement western structures
views on democracy?
agreed w/representative democracy
democracy could be limited depending on education level
views on economy?
-economic production driven by worker-owned cooperatives
-laws of production may be natural laws, but laws of distribution are created + enacted by humans
views on HN?
‘desire for perfection’ and sympathy for fellow humans
