On Liberty (Royal Collector's Edition) (Case Laminate Hardcover with Jacket)

by John Stuart Mill

Overview

On Liberty is a philosophical essay by the English philosopher John Stuart Mill. Published in 1859, it applies Mill's ethical system of utilitarianism to society and state. Mill emphasizes the importance of individuality, which he considers prerequisite to the higher pleasures - the summum bonum of utilitarianism. Among the standards proposed are Mill's three basic liberties of individuals, his three legitimate objections to government intervention, and his two maxims regarding the relationship of the individual to society.

On Liberty was a greatly influential and well-received work. Mill suggests standards for the relationship between authority and liberty, and asserts that democratic ideals may result in the tyranny of the majority. The ideas presented in On Liberty have remained the basis of much political thought. A copy of On Liberty is passed to the president of the British Liberal Democrats as a symbol of office. It has remained in print since its initial publication.

This case laminate collector's edition includes a Victorian inspired dust-jacket.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781774761748
Publisher:	Royal Classics
Publication date:	01/31/2021
Pages:	112
Sales rank:	475,308
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.44(d)

About the Author

John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 - 7 May 1873), usually cited as J. S. Mill, was a British philosopher, political economist, and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to social theory, political theory, and political economy. Dubbed "the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century," Mill's conception of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state and social control. Mill was a proponent of utilitarianism, an ethical theory developed by his predecessor Jeremy Bentham. He contributed to the investigation of scientific methodology, though his knowledge of the topic was based on the writings of others, notably William Whewell, John Herschel, and Auguste Comte, and research carried out for Mill by Alexander Bain. Mill was also the godfather to the philosopher Bertrand Russell. A member of the Liberal Party and author of the early feminist work The Subjection of Women, he was also the second Member of Parliament to call for women's suffrage after Henry Hunt in 1832. Between the years 1865 and 1868 Mill served as Lord Rector of the University of St. Andrews. During the same period, 1865-68, he was a Member of Parliament for City and Westminster. In 1866, Mill became the first person in the history of Parliament to call for women to be given the right to vote, vigorously defending this position in subsequent debate. Mill became a strong advocate of such social reforms as labour unions and farm cooperatives. In Considerations on Representative Government, Mill called for various reforms of Parliament and voting, especially proportional representation, the single transferable vote, and the extension of suffrage. In April 1868, Mill favoured in a Commons debate the retention of capital punishment for such crimes as aggravated murder; he termed its abolition "an effeminacy in the general mind of the country."