On Liberty

On Liberty is an essay written by the English philosophers Harriet Taylor Mill and John Stuart Mill and published in 1859 under the latter's name. It applied their ethical system of utilitarianism to society and state. The Mills suggested standards for the relationship between authority and liberty. They emphasized the importance of individuality, which they considered a prerequisite to the higher pleasures—the summum bonum of utilitarianism. Furthermore, the Mills asserted that democratic ideals may result in the tyranny of the majority. Among the standards proposed are the Mills' three basic liberties of individuals, their three legitimate objections to government intervention, and their two maxims regarding the relationship of the individual to society.