"On Liberty"

Paper Summary:

This paper studies John Stuart Mill's concept of liberty which is stated in his book "On Liberty." This paper endeavors to define exactly what Mills' notion of liberty is and how it should be regulated.The main discrepancies of his theory are highlighted so as to demonstrate the apparent contradiction between his ideology and the examples he chooses to showcase his theory in its application. This paper concludes that his approach seems to be liberal but ends up with a distinctly "non-liberal" feel.

From the Paper:

"Mill defines liberty (civil or social) as "the nature and limits of the power which can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual." (Chapter I - Introductory; 1) The obvious wielder of this power Mill identified to be the government. However the government can be controlled or checked in turn since they are still held accountable to the people. Mill recognized another wielder of this control over the individual, the "society" in question that exercises this power over the individual is the majority or those considered to be the majority. However, unlike the government, which is held accountable to the people, the majority does not have those checks. Mill states that in many instances the ruling majority is not always the same people who have this power exercised on them. The majority may even wish to dominate a part of the population. Therefore, there would still need to be a limitation placed on this ruling majority. (Chapter I - Introductory; 4)"

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