John Stuart Mill and the Classical Origins of Liberalism

• In Event: Bentham and Mill on Democracy, Despotism, and Liberalism

Abstract

This paper looks to John Stuart Mill’s use of exemplary figures from Plato and Plutarch in order to suggest ways in which his thought assumes classical ethical and political values. By looking at Mill’s idealization of key figures of Greek history this paper argues that we can gain a fresh understanding of his view of acceptable and unacceptable elite authority within representative government, such as his defense of plural voting. Looking to his exemplary classical figures can also help us to understand the basic tension running through his work between liberty and utility; his invocation of classical exemplars to illustrate can help illuminate the socially defined aspects of both liberty and utility. The paper concludes by considering common critiques of liberalism and suggesting ways in which a re-reading of Mill can form the starting point for a response to such critiques.

Author

• Robert Stone, University of Florida