This volume contains John Stuart Mill’s four essays that explore the most central themes of liberal democracies. The texts address the protection of individual freedom, ethical foundations, the advantages and disadvantages of representative institutions, and the indispensable role of gender equality.
Description
'It is only the cultivation of individuality which produces, or can produce, well developed human beings.'
Mill’s essays 'On Liberty', 'Utilitarianism', 'Considerations on Representative Government' and 'The Subjection of Women' examine the most important issues that liberal regimes, both in the nineteenth and the twenty-first centuries, have been grappling with. They form the basis of many political institutions in the Western world by discussing how individual freedom can best be protected, what the fundamental ethical principles are, the pros and cons of representative democracy, and the crucial significance of gender equality.
These passages are essential within the liberal tradition, but their interpretation and coherence remain the subject of debate. In the introduction, Mark Philp and Frederick Rosen place the essays within Mill’s broader work and emphasize that the development of diverse human qualities lies at the heart of his defense of liberalism and its value for modern society.
ABOUT THE SERIES: Oxford World's Classics has, for more than a hundred years, offered a wide range of world literature with carefully accurate texts, extensive introductions, explanatory notes, and up-to-date bibliographies, at an affordable price.
Product specifications
- Author: John Stuart Mill
- Series: Oxford World's Classics
- Publisher: Oxford University Press
- Release date: 2015-07-09
- Number of pages: 608
- ISBN: 9780199670802
- Theme: Philosophical traditions and schools of thought
- BISAC: PHILOSOPHY / History & Surveys / General
About the author
Mark Philp is an Emeritus Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, and edited several works within Oxford World's Classics. Frederick Rosen was affiliated with University College London and directed the Bentham Project; among other things, he wrote about classical utilitarianism and John Stuart Mill.