Mill’s Passage on "On Liberty"

Mill’s Passage on Liberty
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Institution
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Mill’s Passage on Liberty
The short passage, “On Liberty” written by John Stuart Mill addresses the concept of liberty from the perspective of civil or social liberty. The passage seeks to explain the nature and limits of power that can be legitimately exercised by society over an individual. In this regard, Mill notes that the struggle between liberty and authority is the most conspicuous feature that can be used to discuss the dynamic of social liberty. From the perspective of the earliest days, the nature of liberty was to be a protection against the tyranny of the political rulers (Mill, 1859). In other words, the political rulers had the authority over the ruled and could oppress them; thus, there was a need for liberty to act as a protection for the governed. Mill described this setting as the tyranny of a government that needed to be controlled by the liberty of citizens.
With regard to its role of protecting the ruled from the rulers, Mill divided the control of authority into two mechanisms of liberty. Those mechanisms were necessary rights belonging to the citizens, and the constitutional checks established by the consent of the community or a body that represents its interests. In some cases, especially during the early stages of society, most communities overlooked their liberties and subjected themselves to the rule of tyrants due to the turbulent conditions that they were facing such as constant war. However, with the development of humans and communities, people began taking back their liberty with the belief that they could rule themselves (Mill, ...