John Locke believes that man ought to have more freedom in political society than John
Stuart Mill does. John Locke's The Second Treatise of Government and John Stuart Mill's
On Liberty are influential and potent literary works which while outlining the conceptual
framework of each thinkers ideal state present two divergent visions of the very nature
of man and his freedom. John Locke and John Stuart Mill have different views regarding
how much freedom man ought to have in political society because they have different views
regarding man's basic potential for inherently good or evil behavior, as well as the ends
or purpose of political societies.
In order to examine how each thinker views man and the freedom he ought to have in
political society it is necessary to define freedom or liberty from each philosophers
perspective.
In The Second Treatise of Government, John Locke states his belief that all men exist in
"a state of perfect freedom to order their actions and dispose of their possessions and
person as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of nature, without asking leave or
depending upon the will of any other man. " (Locke 4) Locke believes that man exists in
a state of nature and thus exists in a state of uncontrollable liberty which has only the
law of nature to restrict it, which is reason. (Locke 5) However Locke does state that
man does not have the license to destroy himself or any other creature in his possession
unless a legitimate purpose requires it. Locke emphasizes the ability and opportunity to
own and profit from property as being necessary to be free.
In On Liberty John Stuart Mill defines liberty in relation to three spheres; each
successive sphere progressively encompasses and defines more elements relating to
political society. The first sphere consists of the individuals "inward domain of
consciousness; demanding liberty of conscious in the most comprehensive sense; liberty of
thought and feeling; absolute freedom of opinion and sentiment on all subjects, practical
or speculative, scientific, moral, or theological." (Mill 13) The second sphere of
Mill's definition encompasses the general freedoms which allow an individual to freely
peruse a "...life to suit our own character; of doing as we like..." (Mill 13). Mill
also states that these freedoms must not be interfered with by "fellow creatures, so long
as what we do does not harm them..." (Mill 13), no matter how odd, offensive and or
immoral they may seem to others. The final sphere of Mill's definition of liberty is a
combination of the first two. He states that "...the freedom to unite, for any purpose
not involving harm to others: the persons combining being supposed to be of full age, and
not forced and or deceived." (Mill 14)
Locke and Mill's definitions of freedom must be qualified. Since the definitions they
present in their respective literature are distinct from one another, when each
philosopher refers to freedom or liberty they are not citing the same concept. This
distinction is necessary when comparing their positions regarding the amount of freedom
man should have in a political society. What one philosopher considers an overt an
perverse abuse of liberty the other may consider the action completely legitimate and
justifiable.
John Locke believes that men should be virtually unrestricted and free in political
society. Locke's rational for this liberal position lies in the twin foundation of man's
naturally good inclinations and the specific and limited ends Locke believes political
societies ought to have. According to Locke the only freedoms men should lose when
entering into a political society are "equality, liberty and executive power they has in
the state of nature into the hands of society." (Locke 73) In Locke's ideal society this
fails to limit or remove any freedom from the individual, it only removes the
responsibility of protecting these freedoms from the individual and places it on the
state.
John Stuart Mill believes that man's should be strictly limited in political society.
Mill differs from Locke in the basic principle that individual who enjoy the benefits of
living in political societies owe a return for the protection society offers. Mill
believes for society to function properly conduct of societies members should "not
injuring the interests of one another; or rather certain interests; which either by
express legal provision, or by tacit understanding, ought to be considered rights" (Mill
70) Mill furthers this statement by proclaiming that society may go even further. "As
soon as any part of a person's conduct affects prejudicial the interests of others,
society has jurisdiction over it, and the general question whether the general welfare
will or will not be promoted by interfering in it, becomes open to discussion." (Mill 70)
This declaration virtually allows the state the authority to intervene in every instance
of human interaction and have total power to alter the exchange as it sees fit. If this
function of the state is considered supreme or is allowed jurisdiction over even the
first sphere of freedoms any further discussion of liberty is ineffective and redundant.
Mill clearly seeks to limit the freedom of men and guaranteeing some measure of residual
power to exercised by the state at will.
Having examined the level or amount of freedom Locke and Mill advocate for man in
political society a closer examination of the rational or reasoning which Locke and Mill
used to develop their position will clarify the issue further. How Locke and Mill viewed
man and his natural inclination toward good or evil was a crucial and fundamental in the
formation of their views regarding political society in general and how much freedom man
should have in it. The importance of this issue lies in the ability of Locke and Mill to
legitimize their conclusion about society based on the necessity of accommodating the
natural inclinations of man. Tyranny can easily be justified under the guise of
protecting the weak from the natural predatory tendencies of stronger men.
John Locke is clear and adamant in his declaration that man is naturally inclined toward
good. Locke belief in the value of man and his ability to act independently in
compliance with natural law contributed more to his views regarding freedom than did his
positions regarding the function of the state. Several positions which Locke holds to be
true regarding man warrant this conclusion. First is Locke's definition of the state of
nature as "men living together according to reason, without a common superior on earth
with authority to judge between them, is properly the state of nature." (Locke 19)
Secondly Locke's contention that in the state of nature that man has the right to punish
"the crime for restraint and preventing the like offense, which right of punishing is in
everybody; the other of taking reparation, which belongs only to the injured party..."
(Locke 8) Locke does not halt the rights of men to punish transgressions against them,
this right of all men in a state of nature even if it entails the "power to kill a
murderer, both to deter others from doing he like injury, which no reparation can
compensate..." (Locke 8) However Locke does recognize that the right of punishing of
transgressions against oneself has great potential and temptation for abuse and
corruption this is why Locke contends that "God has certainly appointed government to
restrain the partiality and violence of men." (Locke 9) Locke's definite optimism
concerning the nature of man is clearly transferred to his opinion regarding man's
freedom in political society.
John Stuart Mill does not have the same optimistic view of the nature of man which Locke
holds. However he clearly has more faith in humans than the portrait Thomas Hobbes
presents of man in Leviathan. A case can be made for Mill's negative view of humans
because of his utilitarian themes throughout On Liberty which implies that if left to
their own devices man will peruse his own interests even at the costs of his fellow man.
Mill does not make a clear declaration exalting or condemning the nature of man.
However, Mill does make clearly negative statements about the nature of man. "There has
been a time when the element of spontaneity and individuality was in excess, and the
social principle had a hard struggle with it." (Mill 57) Mill's insinuation that the
free and unrestricted actions of men can cause conflict is to be expected nonetheless it
disguises Mill's true position on man's nature. It is the subtly inference that the use
of spontaneity and individuality as a method of ordering one's actions somehow runs
contrary to the social principle, which shows a clear mistrust of man's unrestricted and
uninhibited side.
Another crucial factor which undoubtedly influenced the amount of freedom Mill an Locke
believed man ought to have in political society was their view regarding the purpose of
the state. Mill and Locke held completely opposite views regarding who should benefit
from the existence of the state the individual or the community.
According to Locke men are driven to congregate and form societies for "necessity,
connivance and inclination..." (Locke 44) Locke believes that the purpose or end of the
state is provide the necessities and convinces which drove men to form communities. The
state for all intents and purposes is designed to serve the individual and provide a free
and unrestricted environment in which man who is naturally free may prosper and own
property.
The constant threat of interference by other men in a man's freedom and enjoyment of his
property has driven men to seek the safety of a community which exists "for the mutual
preservation of their lives, liberties, and estates which I call by the general name
"property"." (Locke 71) Locke cites three specific reasons for the formation of
political society. "First, there wants an established, settled, known law, received and
allowed by common consent to be standard....Secondly, in the state nature there wants a
known and indifferent judge with authority to determine all differences according to the
established law...Thirdly, in the state of nature there often wants power to back and
support the sentence when right, and to give it due execution." (Locke 71) Other
necessities and conveniences which Locke refers to are specifically and clearly defined
to prevent any interpretation and or expansion of the power of the state.
According to Mill the purpose of the state is to facilitate a beneficial two way
relationship between individual and the community. The ends of the state are definitely
not devoted to the promotion of the individuals freedom as they are in Locke's writings.
Mill contends the collective interests of the community render greater reward than the
promotion of individual interests.
John Locke and John Stuart Mill are two philosophers who have left an indelible mark on
the concept of freedom in political societies. John Locke favours greater freedom for
man in political society than does John Stuart Mill does. Their beliefs regarding the
nature of man and the purpose of the state are bound to their respective views regarding
freedom because one position perpetuates and demands a conclusion regarding another.
Locke system for dealing with man freedom and all other related matters severely limits
the role of state to strictly guaranteeing individual freedom. This is the best method
of preventing the perversion and abuse of the role and power of the state. Locke views
simply stem from his faith in man and his potential to succeed independently, which
collectively promotes the prosperity of the state.
Mill does not implicitly trust or distrust man and therefore does not explicitly limit
freedom, in fact he does define freedom in very liberal terms, however he does leave the
potential for unlimited intervention into the personal freedoms of the individual by the
state. This nullifies any freedoms or rights individuals are said to have because they
subject to the whims and fancy of the state.
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