On Liberty

Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty. London: John W. Parker and Son, 1859. Reprinted 2002 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. LCCN 2001053980. ISBN 1-58477-221-2. Cloth. $65. Influenced by the Utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham, Mill [1806-1873] adopted a modified laissez-faire position, believing in the efficiency of free enterprise, but aware of the frequent failure of the marke...

Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty. London: John W. Parker and Son, 1859. Reprinted 2002 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. LCCN 2001053980. ISBN 1-58477-221-2. Cloth. $65. Influenced by the Utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham, Mill [1806-1873] adopted a modified laissez-faire position, believing in the efficiency of free enterprise, but aware of the frequent failure of the market to maximize utility. Later refining this stance, he argued that the promotion of happiness is a moral duty (though he made a clear distinction between desirable and undesirable forms of pleasure). These ideas had a decisive influence on Mill's classic 1859 essay, perhaps the most celebrated defense of individual freedom and "self-protection" to appear in English based on utilitarian values rather than natural right. Cannon, Oxford Companion to British History 643. Printing and the Mind of Man 345. Dictionary of National Biography XIII 390-399.

约翰·密尔（John Stuart Mill, 1806-1873），生于英国伦敦，英国哲学家、经济学家、著名的自由主义法学家。自幼在父亲的严厉管教下受教于英国和法国，为《旅行者》、《编年史早报》、《威斯敏斯特评论》、《法学家》等刊物撰稿多年后，应聘主编《伦敦评论》。在此期间的著述后被收入《论文集》中（1859）。密尔主要著作有《逻辑方法》（1843）、《政治经济学原理》（1848）、《妇女屈从》（1869）、《论自由》（1859）、《代议制政府》（1861）等。其中《代议制政府》是西方第一部论述代议制的专著，是密尔政治思想特别是国家理论的一部重要著作。约翰.密尔的代议制理论主要包括代议制政府的形式、职能、民主制、选举权、议会以及地方代表机关和民族等问题。