On Liberty Buchzusammenfassung - das Wichtigste aus On Liberty

Zusammenfassung von On Liberty

Name: On Liberty
Rating: 4.3 (72 reviews)
Author: John Stuart Mill

John Stuart Mill

The iconic political text on how to balance authority, society and individuality

4.3 (72 Bewertungen)

15 Min.

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Social Philosophy Ethics & Morality

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On Liberty
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What’s in it for me? Learn about liberty from one of the most important political texts in history.

Living in nineteenth century England, John Stuart Mill foresaw that the upcoming centuries would exhibit an ongoing power struggle between society and individual freedoms. In this seminal text on tyranny and personal liberty, Mill discusses the nature and limits of the power which can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual.

He lays the foundation of liberal political thought and our contemporary understanding of freedom of religion and speech – topics that continue to raise heated controversy. His insights are valuable, not only to those who wish to create fair and just governments, but also to those who want to rationally evaluate their own behavior and their own assumptions about the world around them.

In these blinks, you will learn

when society has the right to punish you for a night of heavy drinking,

why democracy alone can’t ensure your personal liberty and
why you have the right to save someone from an accidental death.

Democracy alone is no guarantee of personal liberty.

Throughout the course of history, democratic self-government was developed in order to end tyrannical rule. From ancient Greece to England, nearly every society has struggled with its share of tyrants. In fact, in the somewhat distant past, tyrannical and strong leaders were even viewed as an important tool for ensuring societal security and order.

Gradually however, it became obvious that these leaders, who had either inherited or conquered their lands, often acted against the interests of their subjects. More and more people began realizing that the power of political authorities should have limits. The democratic process is designed to achieve this check on political powers, with the key component being the people electing their officials.

Yet, democracy didn’t solve everything. Democratically elected officials can threaten personal liberty, just as tyrants do. Those who fought for democracy thought that, once the interests of political rulers and the people are identical, there would be no danger of tyranny. Not so!

Even when the government is elected democratically and acts responsibly, there is still a need to limit the power of society and government; democracy doesn’t equate to self-governance, but governance over every individual by the majority.

This majority can easily become tyrannical and therefore threaten personal liberty via social tyranny, i.e., the imposition of beliefs and ideals onto those who hold different views. Imagine, for example, that the majority adhered to a single religion. By using the democratic rule, the majority could use the force of the government to impose this belief on religious minorities.

Clearly, democracy alone cannot guarantee personal liberty. But there are some steps we can take to avoid the dangers of social tyranny.

Only a society that is based on rational principles can guarantee personal liberty.

If democratic societies want to protect liberty, then they will have to examine various aspects of their culture that cannot be understood without thinking about historical processes and human behavior.

The question of personal liberty must be addressed from a rational point of view. Yet, the rules and laws of a society as well as public opinion are influenced mainly by the likes and dislikes of a given society. In other words, they are entirely irrational. What’s more, all people in that society almost automatically assume that their customs are right and good.

Personal liberty is as useful for societies as it is for individuals.

What if someone you know is unconvinced that the powers of society and the government should have limits? How could you respond? What reasons could you provide to convince him otherwise?

Some philosophers such as John Locke have argued that ethical standards follow from natural or inborn rights. But, as we’ve seen in the previous blinks, what we define as “natural” is very much subjective, based on the cultural whims of the societies in which we participate.

People should have the liberty to do what they desire.

No one else is responsible for an individual’s well-being other than the individual herself. As human beings, we have the capacity to come to our own judgments through careful reflection; people must decide on their own what to think and do, and no one should be allowed to exert their will on someone else’s liberty.

One exception, however, is children. While adults have the mental capacity to make sound decisions, children, on the other hand, lack the maturity to do so. As a result, it’s acceptable for adults to interfere with children’s liberty, in their own best interest.

Interfering with an individual’s liberty is only justified when it is for the purpose of preventing harm to that person or others.

There are some strong cases for limiting an individual’s freedom in order to prevent harm. For example, society has the right to stop those who get drunk and then act violently. Drunkenness alone is no reason to revoke someone’s liberties. But we may certainly revoke the liberties of those who have already acted violently under the influence of alcohol and get drunk again, for example, by imposing fines or jailing them. Because they are prone to become violent when they are intoxicated, getting drunk in their case is a crime against others.

However, sometimes not doing things can harm the people around us, too. Consequently, society is justified to force individuals to do things that they might not want to do, such as make their fair contribution to finance infrastructure projects, like hospitals or roads.

Society must be cautious about what qualifies as harm and how to prevent it.

You might feel hurt when someone takes a parking spot you wanted, but is this the kind of harm we’re talking about? Would it justify interference from society or the government? Probably not. So when does harm justify interference with someone’s liberty?

Not everything that might have negative consequences for others actually justifies interference. In fact, interference is only justified when somebody harms others by violating an obligation he has towards someone else or society in general. For example, although people are generally allowed to get drunk, it is clearly forbidden for on-duty police officers as they are responsible for the security of society.

Limiting freedom of thought and speech is against crime to humankind, as it obscures our search for truth.

Nowadays, there seems to be no question that freedom of thought and speech are protected and respected. However, many people have probably never thought deeply about why these liberties are so important to begin with.

As we’ve seen, when it comes to their beliefs and convictions, people too easily follow the opinions of their social groups and accept the words of institutions, such as the church or political parties, as absolute truth.

Allowing false opinions is also useful for societies.

Most of us probably think that some opinions are just flat out wrong, and that people who hold those opinions would be better to just keep their mouths shut. This is especially true for hot-button issues, such as abortion or gender equality. But would this actually be good for society? In short: no.

Incorrect opinions are valuable in that they force society to think about common, entrenched beliefs and reflect on why their opinions are correct.

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Worum geht es in On Liberty?

The iconic political text On Liberty delves into questions of how to balance authority, society and individuality. Combining abstract philosophical reasoning and concrete examples, On Liberty provides a thoughtful and vivid defense of personal liberty and self-determination that has made a huge impact on our liberal societies and political thought today.

Bestes Zitat aus On Liberty

It is not because mens desires are strong that they act ill; it is because their consciences are weak.

—John Stuart Mill

Wer On Liberty lesen sollte

Anyone interested in philosophy and the history of political thought
Anyone interested in politics
Anyone who wants to learn more about the foundations of Liberalism

Über den Autor

John Stuart Mill, a philosopher and economist, is among the most influential liberal political theorists and moral philosophers in the history of Western thought. In addition to his groundbreaking work On Liberty, Mill is also famous for his book Utilitarianism, a foundational text on utilitarian philosophy.

Kategorien mit On Liberty

Economics Philosophy Politics

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