John Stuart Mill's Political Pessimism

John Stuart Mill devoted much of his life to developing a ‘science of morality’ to enhance the social, moral and intellectual character of individuals and society as a whole. His liberal aspirations included the reform of legal and political institutions according to utilitarian principles and consistent with personal liberty, and the development of a diverse and creative culture. Paradoxically, Mill, the liberal optimist, was also a pessimist about achieving these goals. This article argues that Mill’s pessimism reveals an intellectual depth and forthright political realism about England’s parliamentary democracy and the political and cultural consequences of growing affluence and social equality. Mill’s critiques of liberalism and socialism in their original emergence point the way to explaining why his ideas remain provocative and profoundly illuminating in contemporary debates concerning multiculturalism and human rights

Communism · Democracy · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Liberalism · Mill · Morality · Multiculturalism · Pessimism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Realism · Socialism · Sociology · The good life · European Political History Analysis · Law · Legal and Social Philosophy · Philosophy · Political Theory and Influence

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