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On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
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On Liberty

$14.69

Narrator Gildart Jackson

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Length 4 hours 58 minutes
Language English
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First published in 1859, John Stuart Mill's On Liberty is an exhaustive exploration of social and civic liberty, its limits, and its consequences. Mill's work is a classic of political liberalism that contains a rational justification of the freedom of the individual in opposition to the claims of the state. Drawing upon the empiricism of John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume and the utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham, On Liberty defends the representative democracy as the culmination of society's progression from lower to higher stages, even as it recognizes one of the unique dangers of this type of government—namely, the "tyranny of the majority."



Central to Mill's ideology is the harm principle—the idea that individual liberties should only be curtailed when they harm or interfere with the ability of others to exercise their own liberties. Unlike other liberal theorists, Mill did not rely upon theories of abstract rights to support his ideology, but rather grounded his philosophy in ideas of utility. As relevant to modern audiences as it was to Mill's Victorian readership, On Liberty is an enduring classic of political thought.

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) was a British political philosopher who wrote on such subjects as logic, economics, ethics, metaphysics, religion, and current affairs. His best-known works include On Liberty, Utilitarianism, The Subjection of Women, A System of Logic, Principles of Political Economy, and his autobiography. He was born in London, the eldest son of the Scottish philosopher, historian, and economist James Mill and educated by his father with the assistance of utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham. Mill's philosophy draws upon empiricism and utilitarianism while modifying these doctrines to incorporate a greater sense of humanity. A strong defender of freedom of thought and expression and an early supporter of the cause of women's rights, Mill remains a towering figure in the development of political liberalism.

With acting credits that span stage and screen, Gildart Jackson is most often recognized for his role as Gideon on Charmed. Other notable TV roles include Jackson Palmer on Providence and Simon Prentiss on General Hospital, as well as guest appearances on Stargate: Atlantis, Las Vegas, and CSI. Theater roles include Trigorin in The Seagull, Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, and Adrian in Private Eyes at the Old Globe.

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