Mill

Abstract

Economist, philosopher, civil servant, and politician, John Stuart Mill (1806-73) is generally considered to be the quintessential Victorian liberal. Combining the classical principles of free competition with a faith in utilitarian doctrines, Mill’s main concern was with individual liberty, which he saw as being threatened by the State, buy public opinion, and by the tyranny of the majority.His major works—A System of Logic and Principles of Political Economy—as well as his famous essays, On Liberty, Representative Government, and The Subjection of Women, are witness to his extraordinary skill in expounding difficult problems in a lucid and attractive way. Few English philosophers have been so accessible to the general reader. And yet Mill baffled as many liberals as he converted. What were the conflicts in his life and work?Basing his study on a detailed assessment of the way in which Mill was influenced by his upbringing, William Thomas traces the main ethical, economic, and psychological doctrines which underpin his work, and offers an unusual interpretation of the origins and development of Mill’s mature philosophy.