John Stuart Mill = Genius

I am astounded that I have never encountered Mill before. In the short section I read about him, I quickly came to admire him. He was definitely a radical because he advocated: "sexual equality, the right to divorce, universal suffrage, free speech, and proportional representation." (513) In the times of heightened equality that we live in, it can be difficult for us to begin to comprehend why this is so radical. The Victorian Era was coming into a place of change thanks to people like Mill, but there were still very defined realms for the genders. The women were to remain in the "private sphere", tending their homes and family. Men were expected to cross between both spheres, spending more time in the "public sphere". These spheres were supposed to remain separate so the security of the home would not be comprimised.
Mill was different from the beginning. His parents were strong advocates of education and thus, he was home-schooled in everything from psychology to political economy. To solidify what he learned, he was forced to tutor his eight siblings. I felt a connection to Mill at this point, because I was home-schooled my entire life. My parents were not severe like Mill's, but I am used to the strong commitment to education. Education is a constant process and I believe that both Mill's and my parents understand that.
Being a radical was not a problem with Mill. He wrote politicals pieces at a very young age. Not to mention, he was arrested at age seventeen for distributing birth control. The question that came to mind when I read about his arrest: did his eight siblings drive him to that point?
He advocated constantly for the individuals' right. His piece, On Liberty, was the framework of his defense for the individual. In a society that was run based upon status and class, the lower class, such as factory workers, were pretty much devoid of voice and rights. Mill says, "If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind." (515) Democracy seems to be the goal of Mill, in a world that is still dominated by those with appropriate birthrights. He knows that he is being radical and that what he says his hard to come to terms with.
The people as a whole were losing their faith, but were too scared of change or revelation to explore a new opinion. The society was against the concept of change because of the fear of instability that comes with any new discovery. At the time, most were content to live on blissfully ignorant and that is why people like Mill were declared "radical".
Mill brought up some excellent points in regards to suppression of opinions. He said that if opinions were silenced, the possibility of it being filled with truth is denied. If one refuses to acknowledge the opinion, then we are assuming ourselves to be without fault. Assuming in any cases is not a good plan. I am very glad that the society did not keep on assuming that they knew basically all there was to know. Our world would be a vastly different place, affecting everything from individual liberties to technology as a whole. Mill also finds listening to every opinion important because each one may contain some degree of truth that may help with the understanding of truth in general. Debate is important to the discovery of truth as well because opinions contradicting can expose the truth. Individuals deserve the right to grow and explore their beliefs and opinions; thus, according to Mill, personal exploration should never be dissuaded.
In the Victorian Era, social standing and appearance dictated the lives of most people. People were reaching for the trends like teenagers in American Eagle, because exterior was such a focal point. Individuality was being silenced and uniformity encouraged. I completely agree with Mill's statement: "No one's idea of excellence in conduct is that people should do absolutely nothing but copy one another." (517) Since class was often pre-determined by birth, people were expected to follow their class' standards without any question. I can almost picture Mill waving his arms and screaming at an army of drones in fancy dresses and polished shoes.
The expected uniformity makes me think of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. In his story, all the social classes were given standards to adhere to and prescribed drugs to keep them from questioning their contentment in their "place". Mill argues that our humanity is taken from us when we blindly accept a societal expectation in place of our own reasoning.
I want to close this blog on a brilliant quote to mill around in your mind:
"A person whose desires and impulses are his own--are the expression of his own nature, as it has been developed and modified by his own culture--is said to have a character. One whose desires and impulses are not his own, has no character, no more than a steam engine has a character." (518)

"Better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation." -Herman Melville