ON LIBERTY
The USA is like a giant river with many smaller rivers flowing into it, not so much different, in simile, to the Mississippi being the amalgamation of the flow of several other rivers (both big and small). So it is with the philosophical, political, and religious thought that forms the basis of what this great country is today. It has many "streams of thought" flowing into it (especially Christianity and the Enlightenment) and has since its formation.
It has been helpful to me to read and digest many of the great works that have assisted in the political character formation of our country. One of these is John Stuart Mills' "On Liberty," dating from 1859.
One could say that Mill was a man ahead of his time. His philosophy is characteristic of the true 19th century European "liberalism" (nothing like the "liberalism" of the left wing of contemporary American politics, by the way) that influenced thought in the US a great deal. American intellectuals often took their cue in this era from the Continent (this has not been the case so much in recent times, though it still persists a great deal on the left wing). A student of Jeremy Bentham (of "Utilitarianism" fame), Mill was a champion of the inherent rights of the individual versus society at large.
Many of the political "causes" of Mill's day (and in his writing) concern us today, such as euthanasia, abortion (Mill thought it unconscionable to bring into the world babies that could not be loved, cared for, and fed), multi-culturalism, political pluralism (so as to avoid any univocal concentration of power whether on the right or left), and temperance (the abuse of alcohol was as big a concern in his day as ours). Mill voiced objection to the "tyranny of the majority," and articulated separate spheres for morality: both a "private morality" (between consenting adults and behind closed doors; private and nobody else's business) and "public morality" (whatever is for the good of the most; to keep society functioning smoothly). The question for him was: "will this behavior hurt anybody else"? This attitude is very pronounced yet today in American behavioral practice. (Of course, the degree to which my behavior affects another human being is highly debatable, when you look at it very critically.) Mill even advocated competency testing for school teachers (by merit)!
It is interesting that, in this era (and I learned this from Mill), the state of Maine actually prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages pre-Civil War (and well before, obviously, it became a Constitutional Amendment in 1919; not repealed until 1933). This is a case where a State practiced its sovereign right to choose and stand apart from the rest of the country, not taking its cue from Washington.
Mill was also ahead of his time where it came to the issue of women's suffrage (cf. his 1869 work "The Subjection of Women") and the abolition of slavery (England was a few decades ahead of the USA in abolishing the practice). He had an interesting partnership with his intelligent wife - Harriett Taylor - when it came to women's issues, and she was a very important influence on his thinking.
One axiom that Mill articulated in "On Liberty" really stood out to me, as "Truth" is an issue which we all struggle with: how do we define it; and how can we possibly define - and know - what truth is? Is it relative? Or absolute? Culturally defined? Or universal? ("Just gimme some truth!" goes the chorus to a great John Lennon song.)
Mill give us a succinct and brilliant thought on truth in his "On Liberty," which certainly resonates with the American character (and indeed western democracy in general). Mill wished men "not to take authority for truth, but truth for authority."
TTC
It has been helpful to me to read and digest many of the great works that have assisted in the political character formation of our country. One of these is John Stuart Mills' "On Liberty," dating from 1859.
One could say that Mill was a man ahead of his time. His philosophy is characteristic of the true 19th century European "liberalism" (nothing like the "liberalism" of the left wing of contemporary American politics, by the way) that influenced thought in the US a great deal. American intellectuals often took their cue in this era from the Continent (this has not been the case so much in recent times, though it still persists a great deal on the left wing). A student of Jeremy Bentham (of "Utilitarianism" fame), Mill was a champion of the inherent rights of the individual versus society at large.
Many of the political "causes" of Mill's day (and in his writing) concern us today, such as euthanasia, abortion (Mill thought it unconscionable to bring into the world babies that could not be loved, cared for, and fed), multi-culturalism, political pluralism (so as to avoid any univocal concentration of power whether on the right or left), and temperance (the abuse of alcohol was as big a concern in his day as ours). Mill voiced objection to the "tyranny of the majority," and articulated separate spheres for morality: both a "private morality" (between consenting adults and behind closed doors; private and nobody else's business) and "public morality" (whatever is for the good of the most; to keep society functioning smoothly). The question for him was: "will this behavior hurt anybody else"? This attitude is very pronounced yet today in American behavioral practice. (Of course, the degree to which my behavior affects another human being is highly debatable, when you look at it very critically.) Mill even advocated competency testing for school teachers (by merit)!
It is interesting that, in this era (and I learned this from Mill), the state of Maine actually prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages pre-Civil War (and well before, obviously, it became a Constitutional Amendment in 1919; not repealed until 1933). This is a case where a State practiced its sovereign right to choose and stand apart from the rest of the country, not taking its cue from Washington.
Mill was also ahead of his time where it came to the issue of women's suffrage (cf. his 1869 work "The Subjection of Women") and the abolition of slavery (England was a few decades ahead of the USA in abolishing the practice). He had an interesting partnership with his intelligent wife - Harriett Taylor - when it came to women's issues, and she was a very important influence on his thinking.
One axiom that Mill articulated in "On Liberty" really stood out to me, as "Truth" is an issue which we all struggle with: how do we define it; and how can we possibly define - and know - what truth is? Is it relative? Or absolute? Culturally defined? Or universal? ("Just gimme some truth!" goes the chorus to a great John Lennon song.)
Mill give us a succinct and brilliant thought on truth in his "On Liberty," which certainly resonates with the American character (and indeed western democracy in general). Mill wished men "not to take authority for truth, but truth for authority."
TTC
posted by thoughtful conservative at 9:06 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home