Page 263 - DPOL201_WESTERN_POLITICAL_THOUGHT_ENGLISH

Unit 14: John Stuart Mill and His Representative Government

speech and toleration, immortalized by his famous dictum, “I disapprove of what you say, Notes
but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
• Mill welcomed the idea of socialism winning over private property, but it would have to be
a socialism that respected individuality. He wanted the most people to enjoy property, and
for this he insisted on restricting the rights of inheritance, limiting the size of the population
and increasing the quality and quantity of education.
• Mill was also convinced that advancement of democracy would depend on the spread of
education and schooling. Following Rousseau, he advocated participation in public affairs as
a means of counter balancing human selfish-ness. Participation maximized responsibility.
But for his father, participation minimized oppression. John Stuart’s entire focus was on
enlarging participation and the individual’s freedom of choice.
• Participation was integral to political education. An educated citizenry was vital to the
creation and perpetuation of a healthy body politic. The expansive ideal of citizenship
inculcated by Mill put a premium on a widely diffused energy, virtue and intelligence. The
achievement of a higher politics required, among other things, opportunities for personal
growth, which entailed bringing more and better schooling, more civic participation, more
material benefits, and more beauty within the reach of more and more people .... Political
development, personal growth, and an increase in the total sum of human happiness were to
advance together.
• Mill applied liberal principles not only in the public sphere but also in the private realm, and
was the only philosopher to emphasize the importance of fairness, equality and independence
within the family as well as within the state. He also insisted that the state had to grant the
means of self-protection to its people. Towards this end, he advocated women’s
enfranchisement, quality elementary education for the masses and land reforms for agricultural
labourers. A liberal state had the duty to empower the disadvantaged and the dispossessed.
Mill humanized and broadened the ambit of liberalism, which made possible its subsequent
revision by Green with his doctrine of Common Good.
14.5 Key–Words

1. Laissez : the theory or system of government that upholds the autonomous
character of the economic order believing that government should
intervene as little as possible in the direction of economic affairs.
2. Samya : equality
3. Intuitionist : The theory that truth or certain truths are known by intuition rather than
reason.
14.6 Review Questions

1. Write a short note on J.S. Mill views on representative government.
2. How does Mill attempt to subsume justice and rights under the concept of utility ? What do
you think of this attempt ?
3. Discuss Mill’s view on India.

14.7 Further Readings

1. Mukherjee, S. and Ramaswamy, S. 2004: A History of Political Thought, PHI
Learning Pvt. Ltd.
2. Mukhopadhyay, A.K. 1990 Western Political Thought, Calcutta - KP Bagchi and
Company.

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