On Liberty

For the first book of my research paper, I chose to read the book On Liberty, by John Stuart Mill. In this piece, Mill details his views on societal intervention on an individual's personal freedoms. The book is heavily influenced by the philosophy of Utilitarianism. Founded by Jeremy Bentham, Utilitarianism espouses the belief that an individual should decide upon their course of action based upon an action's utility, both in how it aides themselves and others. To this end, Mill wrote that government intervention should only be permitted when an action would negatively impact others. Other than this instance, Mill believes that the government should be prevented from regulating a person's individual freedoms. Mill also decried unfair democracy, when the majority imposes their will upon the minority. Rather, he argued for a more pluralistic and egalitarian form of government.

I plan to use On Liberty, along with the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, as counterpoints to the Communist Manifesto, by Karl Marx. Through my research paper, I plan on synthesizing the views of all three writers in order to create a more modern view on the role of government power over the individual and society. At some point, I plan on finding a more modern analogue to these works, and discussing how the views have evolved. In addition, I could examine how each system of government has fared in actuality.