Rereading Power and Freedom in J.S. Mill

375 Pages·2000·19.092 MB·English

by  Bruce Baum

REREADING POWER AND FREEDmU^jTS. MILL
Bruce Baum
In his canonical text, On Liberty, the English philosopher and social
reformer John Stuart Mill (1806-73) looked at the limits imposed by
society and the state on individual freedom. Over one hundred years
later, Bruce Baum, in Rereading Power and Freedom inJ.S. Mill, shows how
important aspects of Mill's theory of freedom have been misinter-
preted. The author recovers lost dimensions of Mill's thought, and in
so doing, contributes to a critical sociology of freedom for our time.
Drawing on Mill's thoughts on liberty and power scattered through-
out his numerous texts on related subjects, Baum moves beyond what
Mill has to say about freedom in On Liberty. Baum discovers a consistent
purpose behind Mill's advocacy of women's rights, universal suffrage,
parliamentary and educational reforms, and workers' co-operatives.
Whereas Mill is commonly interpreted as an advocate of negative
liberty, Baum argues that Mill possesses a complex theory of freedom
that unifies the pursuit of personal autonomy with the quest for col-
lective self-determination through an egalitarian, genuinely participa-
tory democratic politics.
This insightful work traces new connections between Mill's liberalism
and the later revisionist liberalisms of theorists such as T.H. Green and
John Dewey, as well as between the liberal and socialist traditions. Not
only does it break new ground in its demonstration of the complemen-
tary relationship between freedom and power, it is the first comprehen-
sive study of Mill's social and political thought that seriously engages his
feminism.
BRUCE BAUM is visiting assistant professor in political science at
Macalester College.
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BRUCE BAUM
Rereading Power and
Freedom in J.S. Mill
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS
Toronto Buffalo London
www.utppublishing.com
University of Toronto Press Incorporated 2000
Toronto Buffalo London
Printed in Canada
ISBN 0-8020-4761-0 (cloth)
ISBN 0-8020-8315-3 (paper)
Printed on acid-free paper
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Baum, Bruce, 1960-
Rereading power and freedom in J.S. Mill
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8020-4761-0 (bound) ISBN 0-8020-8315-3 (pbk.)
1. Mill, John Stuart, 1806-1873 - Views on liberty. 2. Liberty.
I. Title.
JC585.B385 2000 323.44 C99-932322-9
The University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its
publishing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario
Arts Council.
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial support for its
publishing activities of the Government of Canada through the Book
Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP).
Canada
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IX
ABBREVIATIONS xi
Introduction 3
I The Politics of Freedom 5
II The Contribution of John Stuart Mill 10
III Steps in the Argument 18
1 Mill's Conception of Freedom 21
I Freedom and Liberty 23
II Freedom, Autonomy, and Individuality 25
III Degrees of Autonomy, Degrees of Freedom 31
IV Freedom and Power 34
V Freedom, Power, and Culture 36
VI Conclusions 43
2 Mill's Theory of Modern Freedom 45
I 'Science,' 'Art,' and 'Theory' in Mill's Political Philosophy 46
II Freedom and Mill's Moral Theory 52
III Empirical Theories and Spheres of Freedom 55
a. The Theory of Social Power 56
b. The Theory of Individual Development 56
c. The Theory of Societal Development 57
IV Secondary Principles 60
a. The Principle of Liberty 60
b. Democratic Self-government 61
c. Social and Distributive Justice 62
d. Equality 63
V Conclusions 65
vi Contents
3 The Theory of Social Power 71
I Mill's Conception of Power 72
II The Sources of Social Power 77
III Mill's Theory of Authority 83
a. Being 'an Authority' 85
b. Traditional Authority 87
c. Modern Authority 93
IV Power and Authority 98
V Government, Self-government, and the Government
of Conduct 100
4 Education for Freedom 103
I Association Psychology and the Development of Autonomy 105
II The 'Science' of Ethology and the 'Art' of Education 111
HI The Powers of Education 113
a. Formal Education 113
b. Education in the 'Larger Sense' 118
c. Authority, Discipline, and Self-discipline e 122
IV Equality versus Elitism 128
V Conclusion 131
5 The Principle of Liberty 134
I Individual Liberty and Modern Democracy 136
II The Province of Individual Liberty 139
III Individuality, Utility, and the Diversity of Goods 143
IV The Domain of Social Morality 150
V Indirect Utility and the Politics of Rights 159
VI Individual Liberty and the Powers of Education and Opinion 165
VII Conclusion 168
6 Freedom, Sex Equality, and the Power of Gender 172
I Gender and Individual Liberty 174
a. Autonomy, Freedom, and the Constraints of Gender 174
b. Life Plans and Career Opportunities 176
c. Marriage and Divorce 180
d. Gender, Sexuality, and Sexual Freedom 182
II Sex Equality and Democratic Self-government 185
a. Marital Partnership 185
b. Economic and Political Freedom 191
III Conclusion 193
Contents vii
7 Economic Freedom 199
I Mill on Economic Freedom 201
a. Economic Freedom 201
b. Maximal Economic Freedom 206
II The Political Economy of Freedom 207
a. Individual Liberty 207
b. Democratic Self-government 221
III Conclusion 224
8 Political Freedom 228
I Representative Democracy 233
a. Equal Representation and Democratic Deliberation 235
b. Political Equality and Class Division 240
c. The Principle of Publicity and the Public Sphere 245
d. Local and National Democracy 252
e. Popular Participation and the 'Authority of the Instructed' 255
II Maximal Political Freedom 259
III Conclusion 262
9 Mill and the Politics of Freedom 267
I Rethinking Freedom and Power 268
II Four Principles of Freedom 269
a. The Principle of Liberty 269
b. Democratic Self-government t 271
c. Social and Distributive Justice 272
d. Equality 273
III Conclusion: The Politics of Freedom 274
NOTES 279
BIBLIOGRAPHY 325
INDEX 351
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Acknowledgments
Many people have helped me directly or indirectly with this project. My
greatest debts are to Laura Janara, Jim Farr, and my parents, Rosalyn and
Charles Baum. I am enormously grateful to Laura for her love and
companionship. I thank Laura also for contributing directly to this work
through many conversations, her incisive criticism, and her unflagging
encouragement.
I want to thank my parents by dedicating this book to them. I am
grateful for their love and generosity, and for helping me pursue my
goals. I hope in some way that this book reflects the best of what they
taught me.
This book is based on my dissertation for the University of Minnesota,
where Jim Farr was my dissertation adviser. Without his guidance I might
never have completed this project. He helped me transform my rather
crude initial ideas about freedom and power into a workable project,
and his thoughtful criticism greatly strengthened my arguments. Many
thanks to Jim for his role in my scholarly development and for his
continuing support.
I also wish to thank a few other mentors. At the University of Minne-
sota, Ed Fogelman, Doug Lewis, Mary Dietz, and Terence Ball taught me
a great deal about political theory and philosophy. Ed and Doug also
provided me with crucial support when I needed it most. Two people
from my undergraduate years at Vanderbilt University deserve special
mention: George Graham, Jr. and John Lachs. They inspired me to
follow the path that led to this work.
Thank you to Andy Davison, Byron Miller, Nancy Reist, and Paul
Soper for friendship, collegiality, and intellectual exchange that contrib-
uted significantly to this project. Thank you to John Mowitt, Naomi