John Stuart Mill was a leading English philosopher and economist in the nineteenth century known for his utilitarianism and significant contributions to the social, political, and economic discourse of his day.
Mill was born on May 20, 1806 in London, the eldest son of the philosopher and economist John Mill. His father took charge of his education in an attempt to mold the young Mill in his own intellectual image, and had Mill reading Greek and Latin philosophers before he had turned twelve. Through his own work, his father had become acquainted with Jeremy Bentham, a well-known utilitarian philosopher, who would also influence Mill and his ideologies. Several of his essays were published in different newspapers edited by his father’s friends and acquaintances. In 1826, Mill had a crisis of identity and belief and plunged into a period of depression. When he emerged, he had a greater appreciation for poetry and a more well-rounded world view, in contrast with the strict positions of his father. He began working at the East India Company as an administrator, and would remain there until 1857.
Mill began working as an administrator at the East India Company when he was seventeen and would remain there until 1857. His work was not very labor intensive, allowing him plenty of time to write and explore different intellectual ideas. Throughout the 1830s, his work appeared in a variety of publications, including The Examiner, The Westminster (for which he was an editor), and The Edinburgh Review. In 1843, he published his first major work, A System of Logic, which sought to outline his scientific and philosophical arguments against intuitionism and in favor of naturalism. His beliefs on economic growth were put forth in Principles of Political Economy (1848), in which he argued, amongst other points, for a form of socialism in which workers have more power and share of capital, leading to a more equitable wealth distribution. It became one of the most important economic works of the nineteenth century and cemented Mill’s reputation as an eminent intellectual.
Some of his ideas were shaped by Mrs. Harriet Taylor, a married woman with whom he had struck up a friendship due to their mutual intellect and interest in one another. Mill and Taylor married in 1851, two years after the death of her first husband. When Taylor died in 1858, Mill was devastated. He dedicated his 1859 essay On Liberty to her, which was written with her partial collaboration. In this work, Mill explores the limitations of power as it can be wielded over individuals by society. His next major work was Utilitarianism, which he published in installments in Fraser’s Magazine before it came out as a complete work in 1863. In this work, Mill attempted to explain the utilitarian theory that actions can be morally judged as good or bad by whether they promote or discourage happiness.
Mill was elected to Parliament in 1865 despite his minimal campaigning. He supported the Reform Bill of 1867 and attempted to amend its language to include women and allow for their suffrage. Though this change was not implemented, it led to wider public support for women’s suffrage. Mill did not serve a second term and instead retired to his villa in France with his stepdaughter, Helen Taylor. She assisted Mill in the publication of The Subjection of Women in 1869, which he had worked on years earlier with his wife. Here, Mill argued for women’s suffrage and equality. His work is notable for his idea that the subjugation of women not only negatively affects women themselves, but also men. Mill died in Avignon, France in 1873.
Today, John Stuart Mill is mostly recognized for his contributions to economic theory, yet he is notable for his early feminist rhetoric and vast intellect.