John Stuart Mill: Linchpin Between Classical and Modern Liberalism

20 JANUARY 2025 · 1 HOUR 20 MINUTES · POLITICAL THOUGHT · Season 2, Episode 30

Mill tried to reconcile individual liberty with social improvement, making him a hinge between classical liberalism and later arguments about equality, education and collective responsibility.

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Episode summary

John Stuart Mill was formed within the utilitarian circle of James Mill and Jeremy Bentham, but his intellectual crisis led him to question whether rational calculation alone could sustain a flourishing life. The episode connects that biography to his attempt to join liberty, individuality and moral development.

The discussion considers the harm principle, freedom of expression, representative government, women’s equality and Mill’s entanglement with empire. Together these themes reveal a liberalism more complicated than a simple defence of non-interference.

Questions explored

• How did Mill’s upbringing and intellectual crisis reshape his philosophy?
• What does the harm principle protect, and where are its limits?
• Why are individuality and disagreement socially valuable?
• How should Mill’s defence of liberty be assessed alongside his views on empire?

Participants

• Samuel Woodall: intellectual historian and co-host of Beyond the Text.
• Jack Thomson: philosopher and co-host of Beyond the Text.

Sources and further reading

• John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (1859).
• John Stuart Mill, Considerations on Representative Government (1861).
• John Stuart Mill, The Subjection of Women (1869).
• John Stuart Mill, Autobiography (1873).

A complete transcript is available from the original Buzzsprout episode page where provided.