John Stuart Mill's Evaluations of Poetry
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A Critique of John Stuart Mill Chris Daly
Southern Illinois University Carbondale OpenSIUC Honors Theses University Honors Program 5-2002 The Boundaries of Liberalism in a Global Era: A Critique of John Stuart Mill Chris Daly Follow this and additional works at: http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/uhp_theses Recommended Citation Daly, Chris, "The Boundaries of Liberalism in a Global Era: A Critique of John Stuart Mill" (2002). Honors Theses. Paper 131. This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the University Honors Program at OpenSIUC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of OpenSIUC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. r The Boundaries of Liberalism in a Global Era: A Critique of John Stuart Mill Chris Daly May 8, 2002 r ABSTRACT The following study exanunes three works of John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Utilitarianism, and Three Essays on Religion, and their subsequent effects on liberalism. Comparing the notion on individual freedom espoused in On Liberty to the notion of the social welfare in Utilitarianism, this analysis posits that it is impossible for a political philosophy to have two ultimate ends. Thus, Mill's liberalism is inherently flawed. As this philosophy was the foundation of Mill's progressive vision for humanity that he discusses in his Three Essays on Religion, this vision becomes paradoxical as well. Contending that the neo-liberalist global economic order is the contemporary parallel for Mill's religion of humanity, this work further demonstrates how these philosophical flaws have spread to infect the core of globalization in the 21 st century as well as their implications for future international relations. -
The Contradiction of Classical Liberalism and Libertarianism
The contradiction of classical liberalism and libertarianism blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2017/02/01/the-contradiction-of-classical-liberalism-and-libertarianism/ 2/1/2017 A standard assumption in policy analyses and political debates is that classical liberal or libertarian views represent a radical alternative to a progressive or egalitarian agenda. In the political arena, classical liberalism and libertarianism often inform the policy agenda of centre-right and far- right parties. They underpin laissez-faire policies and reject any redistributive action, including welfare state provisions and progressive taxation. This is motivated by a fundamental belief in the value of personal autonomy and protection from (unjustified) external interference, including from the state. It is difficult to overestimate the philosophical and political relevance of classical liberalism and libertarianism. President Trump’s proposal to repeal the “Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)”, for example, is clearly inspired by a libertarian philosophical outlook whereby “No person should be required to buy insurance unless he or she wants to” (Healthcare Reform to Make America Great Again ). More generally, in the last four decades the political consensus, and the spectrum of policy proposals and outcomes, has significantly moved in a less interventionist, more laissez faire direction. The centrality of classical liberal and libertarian views has been such that the historical period after the end of the 1970s – following the election of Margaret Thatcher in the UK and Ronald Reagan in the US – has come to be known as the “Neoliberal era”. Yet the very coherence of the classical liberal and libertarian view of society, and its consistency with the fundamental tenets of modern democracies, have been questioned. -
HUME and MILL on "UTILITY of RELIGION": a BORGEAN GARDEN of FORKING PATHS?L
TEAO~ Reuista Iberoamericana de Estudios Utilitaristas-2005, XlVII: 117-129 ISSN 1132-0877 HUME AND MILL ON "UTILITY OF RELIGION": A BORGEAN GARDEN OF FORKING PATHS?l JOSE L. TASSET2 University ofA Coruiia ABSTRACT This work is not a specific assessment of Utility ofReligion by John Stuart Mill, but a defence of what I think is a utilitarian, but not millian, view on the problem that work states, the question of the utility of religion in contemporary societies. I construct that view from neohumeanism more than from millian positions, notwithstanding, I postulate that view as a genuine utilitarian one. Every cultural tradition makes a different approach to ethical and political theories. Spanish and Ibero-American utilitarians make precisely it with Clas sical Utilitarianism. From that point of view, Ibero-American people identifies utilitarianism with radical and enlightened tradition linked with the reform that through XVIIIth and XIXth centuries tried to undermine the foundations of conservative society in our nations. This aim was not achieved, at least not completely; because of that, the pursuit of Utilitarianism remains opened between us. In the end,I will argue that Spanish and Ibero-American utilitarians connect utilitarianism with philosophical and political radicalism, and inside that His panic utilitarianism, plays an important role the criticism of social and political functions of Religion. Maybe, part of the future of Utilitarianism in our cultural context depends on a return of the Theory to its radical roots, also in religious subjects. Keywords: J ohn Stuart Mill, David Hume, Jorge Luis Borges, religion, deism, theism, functionalism, truth. RESUMEN Este trabajo no pretende ser una evaluaci6n especifica de la Utilidad de la Religi6n de John Stuart Mill, sino una defensa de 10 que creo es una posici6n 1 Date of acceptance: 26/07/2006. -
Matthewarnoldcul021369mbp.Pdf
landmarks in the History of Educati GENERAL EDIT o1 J. DOVER WILSON, Lrrr.D. Professor of Education in the University of London King's College F. A. CAVENAGH, M.A. Professor of Education at University College Swansea CULTURE AND ANARC landmarks in the History of Education GENERAL EDITO J. DOVER WILSON, Lrrr.D. Professor of Education in the University of London King's College F, A. CAVENAGH, M.A. Professor of Education at University College Swansea CULTURE AND ANARCHY LONDON Cambridge University Press FETTZS LANE NS"- YORK TORONTO ICJIBAY * CALCUTTA MADRAS Macmillan TOKYO Alartizen Company Ltd tAll rights reserved in the History ofEducation Cu.ture and Anarchy* BY MATTHEW ARNOLD Edited with an introduction by J. DOVER WILSON, Lirr.I Felh'W of the British Academy *7 CAMBRIDGE AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 1932 PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN CONTENTS Editor's Preface ...... page vil Editor's Introduction . $ . xl AUTHOR'S PREFACE 3 INTRODUCTION 39 % Chapter I . , . SWEETNESS AND LIGHT a 43 Chapter II DOING AS ONE LIKES 72 Chapter III BARBARIANS, PHILISTINES, POPULATE . ^ Chapter IV HEBRAISM AND HELLENISM . .1,29 Chapter "V PORRO UNUM EST NECESSARIUM . .' "145 Chapter VI OUR LIBERAL PRACTITIONERS. 165 CONCLUSION ...... 202 Notes 213 * Bibliography . 239 To G. B. W. EDITOR'S PREFACE 9 * and Anarchy was first published as a book In 1869* and has never been reprinted In its original form; for when a second edition was called for in 1875 Arnold carefully revis%d the whole, corrected a few misprints, added a motto from the Vulgate on the back of the title-page, inserted the now familiar titles at the heads of the chapters, repara- graphed the text at many points, and, while developing Certain passages,, deleted or abridged a number of others. -
Some Remarks on John Stuart Mill's Account of Tocqueville's
SOME REMARKS ON JOHN STUART MILL’S ACCOUNT OF TOCQUEVILLE’S CONCERN WITH THE MASSES IN DEMOCRATIC SOCIETIES ÁTILA AMARAL BRILHANTE E FRANCISCO JOSÉ SALES ROCHA1 (UFC / Brasil) RESUMO Este artigo mostra que John Stuart Mill e Alexis de Tocqueville defenderam a existência de uma cultu- ra cívica capaz de contribuir para o florescimento da liberdade, da diversidade e impedir as massas de adquirirem um poder impossível de ser controlado. O argumento principal é que, no início da década de 1840, John Stuart Mill incorporou ao seu pensamento político a ideia de Alexis de Tocqueville de que, para que a democracia tenha um adequado funcionamento, o poder das massas deve ser contraba- lançado. Inicialmente, John Stuart Mill tentou encontrar um poder na sociedade para contrabalançar o poder das massas, mas depois ele passou a defender um novo formato para as instituições com o obje- tivo de garantir a presença das minorias educadas no parlamento e, por meio disto, estabelecer o con- fronto de ideias que ele julgava tão necessário para prevenir a tirania das massas. No intento de evitar os excessos da democracia, John Stuart Mill deu maior importância à construção das instituições polí- ticas, enquanto Alexis de Tocqueville enfatizou mais o papel da participação na política local. Apesar disto, a dívida do primeiro para com o pensamento político do segundo é imensa. Palavras-chave: O poder das massas. Controlabilidade. Democracia. J. S. Mill. A. de Tocqueville. ABSTRACT This article shows that both J. S. Mill and Tocqueville favoured a civic culture that supported liberty, diversity and prevented the uncontrolled power of the masses. -
Critiques of Growth in Classical Political Economy: Mill's Stationary
Critiques of growth in classical political economy: Mill’s stationary state and a Marxian response GARETH DALE ABSTRACT In recent political-economic theories of ‘nature,’ Mill and Marx/Engels form important reference points. Ecological economists see Mill’s ‘stationary state’ as seminal, while Marxists have ‘brought capitalism back in’ to debates on growth and climate change, sparking a Marxological renaissance that has overturned our understanding of Marx/Engels’ opus. This essay explores aspects of Mill’s and Marx/Engels’ work and contemporary reception. It identifies a resemblance between their historical dialectics. Marx’s communism is driven by logics of ‘agency’ and ‘structure’ (including the ‘tendency of profit rates to fall’). In Mill’s dialectic a ‘thesis,’ material progress, calls forth its ‘antithesis,’ diminishing returns. The inevitable ‘Aufhebung’ is a stationary state of wealth and population; Mill mentions countervailing tendencies but fails to consider their capacity to postpone utopia’s arrival. Today, Mill’s schema lives on in ecological economics, shorn of determinism but with its market advocacy intact. It appears to contrast with the ‘productive forces expansion’ espoused by Marx/Engels. They stand accused of ‘Promethean arrogance,’ ignoring ‘natural limits’ and ‘gambling on abundance.’ But I find these criticisms to be ill-judged, and propose an alternative reading, arguing that their work contains a critique of the ‘growth paradigm,’ and that their ‘cornucopian’ ends do not sanction ‘promethean’ means. That Karl Marx and John Stuart Mill inhabited the same city for over twenty years without encountering one another has prompted some of their admirers to compensate for the frustration of this event’s unfortunate non-occurrence by means of fantasy. -
The Abolition of Emerson: the Secularization of America’S Poet-Priest and the New Social Tyranny It Signals
THE ABOLITION OF EMERSON: THE SECULARIZATION OF AMERICA’S POET-PRIEST AND THE NEW SOCIAL TYRANNY IT SIGNALS A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Government By Justin James Pinkerman, M.A. Washington, DC February 1, 2019 Copyright 2019 by Justin James Pinkerman All Rights Reserved ii THE ABOLITION OF EMERSON: THE SECULARIZATION OF AMERICA’S POET-PRIEST AND THE NEW SOCIAL TYRANNY IT SIGNALS Justin James Pinkerman, M.A. Thesis Advisor: Dr. Richard Boyd, Ph.D. ABSTRACT Motivated by the present climate of polarization in US public life, this project examines factional discord as a threat to the health of a democratic-republic. Specifically, it addresses the problem of social tyranny, whereby prevailing cultural-political groups seek to establish their opinions/sentiments as sacrosanct and to immunize them from criticism by inflicting non-legal penalties on dissenters. Having theorized the complexion of factionalism in American democracy, I then recommend the political thought of Ralph Waldo Emerson as containing intellectual and moral insights beneficial to the counteraction of social tyranny. In doing so, I directly challenge two leading interpretations of Emerson, by Richard Rorty and George Kateb, both of which filter his thought through Friedrich Nietzsche and Walt Whitman and assimilate him to a secular-progressive outlook. I argue that Rorty and Kateb’s political theories undercut Emerson’s theory of self-reliance by rejecting his ethic of humility and betraying his classically liberal disposition, thereby squandering a valuable resource to equip individuals both to refrain from and resist social tyranny. -
Interpretations of Mill's Harm Principle and the Economic Implications Therein
Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Political Science Theses Department of Political Science Fall 11-16-2012 Beyond Libertarianism: Interpretations of Mill's Harm Principle and the Economic Implications Therein Matthew A. Towery Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/political_science_theses Recommended Citation Towery, Matthew A., "Beyond Libertarianism: Interpretations of Mill's Harm Principle and the Economic Implications Therein." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2012. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/political_science_theses/45 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Political Science at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Political Science Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BEYOND LIBERTARIANISM: INTERPRETATIONS OF MILL’S HARM PRINCIPLE AND THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS THEREIN by MATTHEW TOWERY Under the Direction of Mario Feit ABSTRACT The thesis will examine the harm principle, as originally described by John Stuart Mill. In doing so, it will defend that, though unintended, the harm principle may justify several principles of distributive justice. To augment this analysis, the paper will examine several secondary au- thors’ interpretations of the harm principle, including potential critiques of the thesis itself. INDEX WORDS: Mill, Harm principle, Libertarianism, Redistribution, -
Universities and the Necessary Counter-Culture Against Neoliberalism La Universidad Y La Necesaria Contra-Cultura Frente Al Neoliberalismo
UNIVERSITIES AND THE NECESSARY COUNTER-CULTURE AGAINST NEOLIBERALISM LA UNIVERSIDAD Y LA NECESARIA CONTRA-CULTURA FRENTE AL NEOLIBERALISMO Nick Couldry (Goldsmiths, University of London, Inglaterra) IC – Revista Científica de Información y Comunicación 2012, 9, pp. 61 - 71 Abstract In various nation-states (including the UK) universities (or institutions of higher education) are being reformed along similar lines – to ensure that their aims and substance are closer to the ‘needs’ of the economy. This development undermines the historic aims of universities as sites where the widest range of people get access to the widest range of knowledge that society and the world needs. The crisis of the university is part therefore of the wider crisis of voice in neoliberal democracies. Moving beyond that crisis requires a counter-culture that defends and rebuilds the values of the university against the force of neoliberal culture. This article argues that in the today’s global crisis of finance and democratic legitimacy what societies need is precisely the open thinking about alternative futures that universities were once empowered to provide. The defence of the university against neoliberal attack is therefore part of the wider defence of democracy. Resumen En varios Estados Nación (incluyendo al Reino Unido), las universidades (o instituciones de Enseñanza Superior) están sufriendo reformas similares – que orientan sus objetivos y su esencia hacia las ‘necesidades’ de la economía. Esta transformación soslaya el cometido histórico de la Universidad como espacio en el que un amplio espectro de gentes accede a una amplia gama de conocimiento fundamental para la sociedad y para el mundo. La crisis de la Universidad es por tanto parte de la gran crisis de voz en las democracias neoliberales. -
The Essential JOHN STUART MILL the Essential DAVID HUME
The Essential JOHN STUART MILL The Essential DAVID HUME DAVID The Essential by Sandra J. Peart Copyright © 2021 by the Fraser Institute. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The author of this publication has worked independently and opinions expressed by him are, therefore, his own, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Fraser Institute or its supporters, directors, or staff. This publication in no way implies that the Fraser Institute, its directors, or staff are in favour of, or oppose the passage of, any bill; or that they support or oppose any particular political party or candidate. Printed and bound in Canada Cover design and artwork Bill C. Ray ISBN 978-0-88975-616-8 Contents Introduction: Who Was John Stuart Mill? / 1 1. Liberty: Why, for Whom, and How Much? / 9 2. Freedom of Expression: Learning, Bias, and Tolerance / 21 3. Utilitarianism: Happiness, Pleasure, and Public Policy / 31 4. Mill’s Feminism: Marriage, Property, and the Labour Market / 41 5. Production and Distribution / 49 6. Mill on Property / 59 7. Mill on Socialism, Capitalism, and Competition / 71 8. Mill’s Considerations on Representative Government / 81 Concluding Thoughts: Lessons from Mill’s Radical Reformism / 91 Suggestions for Further Reading / 93 Publishing information / 99 About the author / 100 Publisher’s acknowledgments / 100 Supporting the Fraser Institute / 101 Purpose, funding, and independence / 101 About the Fraser Institute / 102 Editorial Advisory Board / 103 Fraser Institute d www.fraserinstitute.org Introduction: Who Was John Stuart Mill? I have thought that in an age in which education, and its improvement, are the subject of more, if not of profounder study than at any former period of English history, it may be useful that there should be some record of an education which was unusual and remarkable. -
Part I: Tennyson and the Victorian Crisis of Faith
PRESSING FORWARD: ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON AND THE VICTORIAN AGE by Louis A. Markos TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface ................................................................................................................................................................. iii Part I: Tennyson and the Victorian Crisis of Faith Chapter One: Introduction: From Romantic to Victorian........................................................................................... .2 Chapter Two: T. H. Huxley and the New Science........................................................................................................7 Chapter Three: Cardinal Newman: The Bumpy Road to Faith.................................................................................. 11 Chapter Four: Newman v. Huxley: On Authority and Education.............................................................................. 16 Chapter Five: John Stuart Mill: The Autobiography of a Steam-Engine ................................................................... 21 Chapter Six: John Stuart Mill: Crisis and Resolution .................................................................................................25 Chapter Seven: Tennyson’s In Memoriam: The Poem that Embodied its Age .......................................................... 30 Chapter Eight: Tennyson’s In Memoriam: A Beam in Darkness............................................................................... 35 Chapter Nine: Tennyson’s In Memoriam: From Romantic to Victorian................................................................... -
The Libertarian Philosophy of John Stuart Mill
THE LIBERTARIAN PHILOSOPHY OF JOHN STUART MILL NICHOLASCAPALDI* Queens College OHN STUARTMILL'S ESSAY On Liberty has been praised and at- J tacked for many reasons and from many different perspectives, but one aspect of Mill's work that has been overlooked is a conception of freedom that was new to the British political tradition. I shall focus on that novel conception of freedom in order to show that it is more properly understood as libertarian, not liberal, and to demonstrate how this conception of freedom sheds light both on a number of other ideas in Mill's social philosophy and on the evolution of his thinking. There are two major obstacles to the comprehension of Mill's novel conception of freedom. First, we need a terminological clarification of the meaning in this context of libertarian and liberal. Second, the belief that Mill is "the" expostulator of liberalism is so widely held by both admirers and critics that it has achieved a kind of textbook status. It is this presupposition that largely distorts the reading of Mill and the result of this distortion is that we are denied access to valuable insights.' Reason Papers No. 9 (Winter 1983) 3-19. Copyright @ 1983 by the Reason Foundation. REASON PAPERS NO. 9 Let us turn to the terminological issue first. By iibertarian 1 mean the mora! position that the paramount value is individual liberty. This mora! position has social, political, arid economic implications, all of which are exhibited in the social philosophy of Mill. There are, of course, numerous individuals and positions that are vaguely and sometimes incongruously ideritified as libertarian, and in the popular mind libertarians tend to be narrowly viewed as holding only an economic position favorable to iaissez-fake.2 Nevertheless what all of these positions share is a conviction of the supreme importance of in- dividual liberty and a commitment to its principled adherence, however much they may disagree on the detaiied principled defense.