John Stuart Mill

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) oli englantilainen filosofi ja taloustieteilijä, joka halveksi yhteiskunnan pyrkimystä ahtaa ihmiset samaan muottiin sekä yleisen mielipiteen pakkovaltaa. Yksilön vapauden puolustajana hän kannatti intohimoisesti ihmisten spontaaniutta, yksilöllisyyttä ja erilaisuutta ja toi näkemyksensä julki klassikoksi muodostuneessa esseessään Vapaudesta.

Since its original publication in 1859, On Liberty has profoundly influenced philosophical and political debates about individual freedom, social authority, and progress; it remains a foundational text of the liberal tradition shaping modern democracies. This new edition advances our understanding of On Liberty in two related ways. First, it authoritatively establishes Harriet Taylor Mill as a co-author of On Liberty. Second, it supplements the text of On Liberty with illuminating passages from related essays, chapters, unpublished writings, and letters by both John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor Mill.

This volume gathers, for the first time, Mill’s most important writings from across his long career on one of the principal subjects of his life: the nature and reform of representative government. By doing so, it sheds new light on Mill’s views about democracy, constitutional structure, parliamentary government, class conflict, the relation between elites and the people, and many other key themes of his political thought. It includes an extensive original Introduction situating Mill’s work in the context of the politics of nineteenth-century Britain, and connects his thought to questions that still confront liberal states today.

First published in 1859, On Liberty is a landmark work of political philosophy that challenges the limits of social and governmental authority over the individual. Writing in the context of Victorian England, John Stuart Mill confronts what he terms the 'tyranny of the majority, ' arguing that social pressure can be as oppressive as state power. At the heart of the book lies the celebrated Harm Principle: individuals are free to act as they wish provided they do not harm others. Mill defends moral and economic freedom, insisting on personal sovereignty over one's body and mind, and positions liberty as essential to intellectual and social progress. Concise yet profound, this influential essay remains foundational to liberal thought and continues to shape debates about freedom, authority, and the boundaries of collective power.