John Stuart Mill: Biography and Major Works

Date: 12 May, 2020
By:   Dharmendra   Yadav

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​“It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a Pig satisfied; better to be a Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.”
~ John Stuart Mill (utilitarianism) 1863​

Life of John Stuart Mill ​

John Stuart Mill was born on 20 May 1806, Pentonville, London (United Kingdom). He was very curious to learn economics and political science from a very young age. He was a successful economist, political scientist, philosopher and a dedicated civil servant.
John Stuart Mill is the connecting link between the classical liberals and modern liberals. He considered himself as the disciple of Bentham (Father of Utilitarianism). Utilitarianism was under attack by the humanitarians like Carlyle who called Utilitarianism as the ‘Pigs Philosophy’. He wanted to defend Bentham. So, he revised Utilitarianism. ​

Featured: What is Utilitarianism?
​Utilitarianism has been the dominant philosophy of Britain. The origin of it can be traced to Sophism, Epicureanism. One of the earliest exponents of Utilitarianism was David Hume, Hobbes, and Priestley. It was Bentham who made Utilitarianism as a school of thought. Hence Bentham is called as the Father of Utilitarianism. This philosophy talks about the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people. 

He contributed in the area of classical liberalism, social theory, political theory, political economy and a champion of liberty, he preferred individual over the whole. 
 
He was a libertarian, utilitarian and great advocator of women right, for him freedom totally lies in liberty. The Subjection of Women, Utilitarianism, on liberty, and Consideration on representative government was among his famous book which influenced many contemporary writers although he was influenced by his wife Harriet Taylor, Plato, Socrates, Saint-Simon etc. ​

John Stuart Mill tried to justify Utilitarianism

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John Stuart Mill on Liberty and social justice

It is said that if anyone is liberal then it is Mill. Liberty is the core value of Liberalism and no one before Mill has provided the systematic view of the Liberal concept of Liberty. 
Classical Liberty started with John Locke. Later it was divided into 2 directions. Initially, it was dominated by Tradition of Natural rights and later by Utilitarianism. ​

Mill says that individuals cannot be suppressed by community or society and it is the core of his libertarian thought. In his essay, On Liberty, he talks of protection of opinion, thought and liberty from the intervention of state and society. Since he was a staunch supporter of utility principle for him happiness includes freedom as individuality. His utilitarian principle was based on both quality and quantity of pleasure and also break from traditional morality and religious superstition to scientific and modern society. He championed the principle of liberty as freedom of expression without any hindrances.

From his social thought, he gave much importance to the principle of Distributive justice, where the profit can be shared among many having the concept of justice is fulfilled. Mill was a highly admirable figure, a man with a firm hold on ultimate values of truth, justice, and liberty and his Distributive principle. Professor Stigler (1953) has demonstrated quite thoroughly that Mill was a thinker of great originality in economic theory, especially in the area of value theory. ​

Mill was also in the vanguard of those espousing progressive policies regarding equality of women, trade union, education and welfare, Mill’s concern for long term Distributive justice was the distinguishing feature of his social thought when compared to nineteenth-century liberals. 
     Mill constructed a program of income distribution that would result in a minimum of market distortions as a consequence. ​

                                “Leaving individuals to free to use their own means of perusing any object of general interest, the government, not meddling with them, but not trusting the object solely to their care, establishes, side by side with their arrangements, an agency of its own life a purpose”

  Along with Adam Smith, Mill was a general advocate of proportionate taxation based on the principle of Distributive justice, Mill stressed ‘equality of sacrifice’ but within his general framework, a great concern for the effects of taxation on the condition of the poor is revealed. Hence an individual making 100 pounds exempted from paying tax although they pay indirect taxes. ​

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John Stuart mill and Women   

JS Mill focuses mostly on the role of women in political action, Subjection of women is an essay published by him on women in 1869, with his wife Harriet Taylor Mill. He argues the subordination of women, is not only “wrong in itself” but one of the chief hindrance to human improvement”, (subjection of women, p. 7). By denying the women the same opportunity as men, he says society not only impedes the development of roughly half of the population but denies itself the benefit of their talents.

According to him, the progress of society requires all the people, men and women not be imprisoned in the “fixed social position” in which they are born into but instead be given opportunities to develop their talents and to pursue their demands as long as they pose no threat to the rights of others.

He propounded that the rights should be shared equally among men and women so that they can utilise their best capability and endeavour to add to the economy which further leads to the developing of a nation.

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John Mill on Utilitarianism

Jeremy Bentham is among the founder of Utilitarian principle; he focused on least intervention of the state in day to day life of people in order to advise ‘the greatest happiness of the greatest number’ in the expansion of market and economy. ​

​ But what makes Mill different from many is that according to him the minimal and positive action of the state in promotion of individual liberty. For many utilitarian’s quantities was more preferred over quality but emphasised for man only physical or bodily pleasures is not the priority rather the development of his moral, intellect and art equally important that’s what makes human different from animals. He preferred moral, intellect and art as the pleasure of high quality, which may be less satisfactory to some but it’s more good than low quality giving more satisfaction. 

He differentiated between self – regarding actions and other-regarding action, the action is harmful to me is self regarding and harmful to others is other-regarding action. The intervention of the state into the economic activity justified to uproot the exploitation and uproot the poverty which leads to the welfare state which has a basis of utilitarianism, as it inspired for human development. ​

According to him, Bentham has ignored the sense of honour and sense of dignity as a notion of happiness but these were the true sources of happiness. A human being must use their dominating element to achieve social prosperity as being happy. 
Differing at many points from old utilitarian’s he sought to define liberty as the core of his definitions to Utilitarianism. Through liberty human being can explore new types of pleasure, happiness should be in the development of human character rather than just physical and bodily satisfaction. ​

                           “He who has had the taste of liberty would never be prepared to exchange it for any other pleasure”
Lastly, he argues on curtailing down of any liberty by the state is not accepted whereas it is a kind of hindrance for the growth of human dominating element. ​

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John Stuart Mill and Idea of Democracy ​

In his book, Consideration on Representative Government (1861), an idea about democracy is totally reflected in that book as democracy principle based on individual liberty in all spheres whether social, economic political or cultural. Liberal or representative democracy could be the exact force behind the development of individuality, it encourages citizens participation in politics by voting, interacting with local administration for their own interest. ​

Liberty and democracy can create the situation of ‘Human Excellence’ for the existence of free individual their development, liberty of thought, discussion and action are must for the autonomous mind. Mill says an only representative form of government is good for human development and respect of their opinion, other forms of government are tyrannical. They are not concerned about individual liberty they make arbitrary laws which may be against individuals. 
All individuals have the different capability they can utilise to the fullest of their capability under democracy which respects an individual’s choice and liberty which ultimately leads to the development of a nation. ​

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John Stuart Mill on Freedom of Speech and Expression

According to Mill, the most important right is Freedom of speech and expression. He also focuses on Freedom to form association and action. It is the most important gift by God to man. Out of all species, God has given the ability to speak and communicate through language only to man. ​

According to him, Majority should listen to a minority even when all have one view and only 1 person has a different view. Then also that one person should be allowed to speak. The way we will not support the tyranny of one person overall, we can also not justify the tyranny of all over one. ​

He is influenced by Greek thinkers like Socrates. Dialogue is the only way to understand the truth and truth will automatically emerge. Since we don’t know from which person the truth will emerge. So he proposes that even a mad person must be given the freedom to speak. ​

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