Rating: 
Summary: Individual liberty as supreme human value
Review: This is Mill's statement of the ' one very simple principle' he wished to establish in ' On Liberty' " The object of this Essay is to assert one very simple principle, as entitled to govern absolutely the dealings of society with the individual in the way of compulsion or control, whether the means used be physical force in the form of legal penalties, or the moral coercion of public opinion. The principle is that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively , in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant. He cannot rightfully be compelled to do, or forebear because it will be better for him to do,because it will make him happier, because , in the opinion of others, to do so would be wise or even right... The only part of the conduct of anyone, for which he is amenable to society,is that which concerns others. In the part which merely concerns himself , his idnependence is, of right, absolute. Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.
This is in a nutshell the creed of Mill's faith in ' On Liberty ' Gertrude Himmelfarb in her brilliant introduction explains how that faith developed in part out of the personal situation in which Mill found himself after years of close friendship with the - then married Harriet Taylor after her husband died, became his wife. One great controversy relates to the vast credit Mill gave her with being a full partner in every way in creating this work. The social isolation both suffered as a result of their relationship is an important element in Mill's fierce defence of the individual's right to be free of social coercion, and opinion. Another central element in the development of Mill's thought is his reaction to the Utilitarianism his father John Mill and Jeremy Bentham instilled in Mill from childhood. 'The greatest happiness for the greatest number principal' is rejected by Mill as first basis for social action. Mill in effect says that it is not society's business to be a Grand Inquisitor and bring it bread and circuses to make it happy. Happiness is not the first principle any longer in Mill's thought rather individual liberty is. The sole curb on such individual liberty is when it leads to the harming of others. This faith of Mill can be recognized today as part and parcel of the fundamental ideology of democratic societies.
This work is thus one of the fundamental political classics which form the Western political tradition. And it is one of those works which should be part of the curriculum of any true liberal arts education. The question of the excesses of this principle and whether Mill in his thought has provided sufficient check to it by consideration of other human values is
a very real and debatable one even today.
Rating:
Summary: A way of life against the oppression of socialism...
Review: Unlike the clueless and completely contradictory rantings of "white_anglo_saxon_muslim", this book is entirely in favour of the freedom of the individual - personal freedoms that are entirely opposed to the thoughts of socialism and the notion of a government or body removing those freedoms in favour of a "greater good".This book argues that it is not the role of anyone else to decide what is best for any one person, but that person's decision. Liberty - this book is ON LIBERTY. Anyone who thinks this book is in favour of socialism is completely misguided and confused.
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