Mill and Paternalism

This book gives prominence for the first time to Mill's abiding concern with Malthusianism and its impact on his arguments respecting liberty.

Gregory Claeys (Author)

9781316648612, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 6 April 2017

265 pages
23 x 15.5 x 1.5 cm, 0.43 kg

'Mill scholars, intellectual historians and anyone interested in social and political philosophy would enjoy reading this book. Claeys prompts us to rethink received interpretations of Mill's theory of liberty, and shows that the history of political thought is not only an inexhaustible, but also a fascinating field of study that can enrich our political understanding and make us wiser citizens.' Stamatoula Panagakou, Political Studies Review

Many discussions of J. S. Mill's concept of liberty focus too narrowly on On Liberty and fail to acknowledge that his treatment of related issues elsewhere may modify its leading doctrines. Mill and Paternalism demonstrates how a contextual reading suggests that in Principles of Political Economy, and also his writings on Ireland, India and on domestic issues like land reform, Mill proposed a substantially more interventionist account of the state than On Liberty seems to imply. This helps to explain Mill's sympathies for socialism after 1848, as well as his Malthusianism and feminism, which, in conjunction with Harriet Taylor's views, are central to his later discussions of the family and marriage. Feminism, indeed, is shown to provide the answer to the problem which most agitated Mill, overpopulation. Thus Gregory Claeys sheds new lights on many of Mill's overarching preoccupations, including the theory of liberty at the heart of On Liberty.

Introduction: Mill, liberty, and paternalism: context, intention and interpretation
1. Intervention, progress and the state - domestic and foreign
2. Mill, socialism and collective autonomy
3. Rethinking On Liberty: superstition, expediency, and family values
Conclusion: the aims of liberty and paternalism: equal association and radical meritocracy.

Subject Areas: History of ideas [JFCX], Ethics & moral philosophy [HPQ], History of Western philosophy [HPC]