Resumen
Resumen de Sobre la libertad
Para quién es
For readers who want to think clearly about free speech, personal choice and the limits of the state, and students of politics or ethics who want to explore Mill's arguments.
De qué trata este libro
On Liberty is a short book of political philosophy by the English thinker John Stuart Mill, published in 1859. Mill wrote it in the last years of his marriage to Harriet Taylor Mill, who died in 1858, and he credited her with a deep share in its ideas. His question is simple to state and hard to answer. How much power may a society, or a government, rightly hold over the individual?
Mill was not worried only about kings and tyrants. He feared something quieter in an age of growing democracy: the pressure of the majority, and of ordinary opinion, to make everyone think and live alike. In this book he gives a clear rule for where that pressure must stop, and he defends free speech, free thought and the right to live in your own way. You get a set of arguments you can use in any debate about freedom today. Let us begin with the rule at the heart of the book, and the danger it is meant to meet.
En este resumen
- 1Society may only prevent harm to othersFree
- 2Silencing any opinion robs everyone
- 3Individuality is a part of human wellbeing
- 4Your own conduct is your own business
- 5Where the principle meets real policy
- 6Critics, limits and a lasting question
Idea clave 1 de 6
Society may only prevent harm to others
Mill opens by saying that the old struggle for liberty was a struggle against rulers. People wanted protection from the power of kings. Once rulers became elected, many thought the problem was solved, because the people would hardly oppress themselves. Mill disagrees. The people who hold power are not always the same as the people on whom it is used, and a majority can act as a tyrant over a minority.
He goes further and says that social tyranny can be worse than political tyranny. A government can be limited by law, but public opinion reaches into private life. It punishes by scorn, by gossip and by shutting people out, and it leaves few ways to escape. So Mill argues that we need protection against the ruling feeling of the age, as well as against officials.
His answer is one principle, now called the harm principle. He claims that the only reason for using power over a member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. A person's own good, whether physical or moral, is not enough reason. You may be argued with, begged or persuaded, but you may not be forced to live as others think best.
Mill adds that the principle covers adults in a developed society. It does not cover children, and he says it does not cover peoples in backward conditions. That last point is one of the most criticized in the book. Still, for the ordinary adult citizen, the rule is clear: over your own body and mind, you are the one in charge. Everything else in the book is an attempt to show what this means and why it is wise.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 53,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 3 h 30 min
- Listening time5 h 55 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 12 other languages
Questions about Sobre la libertad
What is On Liberty about?
It is about the limits of power over the individual. Mill argues that society may restrict a person's freedom only to prevent harm to others, and he defends free speech, free thought and the right to choose your own way of life.
What is the harm principle in On Liberty?
The harm principle is Mill's rule that power may be used against a person in a civilized society only to stop him harming others. His own good, physical or moral, is not enough reason to force him.
When was On Liberty written and published?
Mill published it in 1859, in Victorian England. He wrote it with the help and inspiration of his wife, Harriet Taylor Mill, who died in 1858. It is an argument, not a story, and it is not a work of fiction.
Is On Liberty hard to read?
The argument is clear and well ordered, and chapter two on free speech is a good place to start.
What is the main message of On Liberty?
The main message is that people and societies do better when individuals are free to think, speak and live differently. Force is justified only against harm to others, never merely because the majority dislikes a choice.