Mill And The Moral Character Of Liberalism

When first published in 1963, this interpretation of Mill's thought caused much controversy.

Now available in paperback, this second edition reproduces the text of the first with the addition of an extensive postscript which defends the interpretation of Mill set out in the first edition.

The subject of this Essay is not the so-called Liberty of the Will, so unfortunately opposed to the misnamed doctrine of Philosophical Necessity; but Civil, or Social Liberty: the nature and limits of the power which can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual. (...) The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.In this famous essay, John Stuart Mill questions liberty of thought, individualism and the limits to the authority of society over the individual. The text is here followed by "Utilitarianism", a treatise in which he defines the main lines of this moral and political theory based on the greatest happiness of the greatest number.

Wendy Donner contends here that recent commentators on John Stuart Mill's thought have focused on his notions of right and obligation and have not paid as much attention to his notion of the good. Mill, she maintains, rejects the quantitative hedonism of Bentham's philosophy in favor of an expanded qualitative version. In this book she provides an account of his complex views of the good and the ways in which these views unify his moral and political thought.

Examines how distinctive liberalisms respond to racial, cultural, gender-based and class-based forms of diversity and difference.

This volume brings together J.S. Mills On Liberty and a selection of important essays by such eminent scholars as Isaiah Berlin, Alan Ryan, John Rees, C.L. Ten and Richard Wollheim. As well as providing authoritative commentary upon On Liberty, the essays reflect a broader debate about the philosophical foundations of Mill's liberalism, particularly the question of the connection betweenMill's professed utilitarianism and his commitment to individual liberty. Introduced and edited by John Gray and G.W. Smith, the book will be of interest to students of Mill, to ethical and political philosophers and to anyone interested in the contemporary status of liberalism.