Considerations on Representative Government

by John Stuart Mill

Overview

Mill argues for representative government, the ideal form of government in his opinion. One of the more notable ideas Mill puts forth in the book is that the business of government representatives is not to make legislation. Instead Mill suggests that representative bodies such as parliaments and senates are best suited to be places of public debate on the various opinions held by the population and to act as watchdogs of the professionals who create and administer laws and policy. In his words:

Their part is to indicate wants, to be an organ for popular demands, and a place of adverse discussion for all opinions relating to public matters, both great and small; and, along with this, to check by criticism, and eventually by withdrawing their support, those high public officers who really conduct the public business, or who appoint those by whom it is conducted. (wikipedia.org)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781647995492
Publisher:	Bibliotech Press
Publication date:	06/03/2020
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 - 8 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist and civil servant.

Table of Contents

1. To what extent forms of government are a matter of choice; 2. The criterion of a good form of government; 3. That the ideally best form of government is representative government; 4. Under what social conditions representative government is inapplicable; 5. Of the proper functions of representative bodies; 6. Of the infirmities and dangers to which representative government is liable; 7. Of true and false democracy. Representation of all and representation of the majority only; 8. Of the extension of the suffrage; 9. Should there be two stages of election?; 10. Of the mode of voting; 11. Of the duration of Parliaments; 12. Ought pledges to be required from Members of Parliament; 13. Of a second chamber; 14. Of the executive in a representative government; 15. Of local representative bodies; 16. Of nationality, as connected with representative government; 17. Of federal representative governments; 18. Of the government of dependencies by a free state.