Mill strongly enforces his view of liberty, one
in which an individual should have complete freedom to act as he sees fit as
long as those actions do not harm other individuals, by use of examples and
applications of said liberty. However, in this final chapter of On Liberty, he particularly focuses on counterexamples
where such liberties may need to be somewhat restricted in order to promote a
general freedom for an individual such as economic relationships and the use of
government to support and protect such liberty without violating such liberty.
In the example involving economics, Mill demonstrates that limiting businesses
such as gambling houses for the sake of restricting bad and corrupting
businesses. Furthermore, he believes that governments should indeed, while
allowing people to learn from their mistakes prevent others from being harmed
by them through use of a police force, one which, like the government granting
it power, uses force as a last measure at first utilizes the options of
“advice, instruction, and persuasion”. While this may seem inconsistent and an
improper imposition of the majority of society’s social values upon individuals
and individual enterprises, after careful consideration we can see how these
counterexamples actually strengthen Mill’s account of Liberty.
First, such examples might show a depth of
Mill's theory that was not previously apparent. Indeed, this is why Mill
provides a chapter on applications of his theory. In fact, these examples reinforce
the points that while society must not punish behavior, it does not have to
actively promote vices. While it is also
possible that Mill’s examples simply overlook certain logical fallacies, it is
also possible that he promotes certain interventions, such as those involving
gambling houses and police, for the sake of allowing individuals to have access
to other previously less available activities, while nevertheless being free to
take part in gambling or crossing a dangerous bridge that police recommend not
crossing.
On
that note, Mill ends the chapter by saying while the aforementioned examples
show that action is effective for a governing body in society, inaction is just
as important. A society that allows to people to develop a capacity for choice
and have the freedom to make mistakes is the society that will make true
progress. However, such a society must emerge from an open culture, one free
from conformity and designed not for temporary accommodations but
ultimately to create a better future. Whether the future that Mill envisioned
is the present we are living in now….well that’s certainly another argument
altogether, one which I will take the liberty to decline for now.
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