Who recommends it
- How Writing Can Change The WorldArticle
Mill’s classic work is considered one of the most important texts in the history of liberalism. It argues for individual freedom and rights, and against government interference in personal lives.
- The Most Important Books on PoliticsReading list
On Liberty by John Stuart Mill is one of the most important books on politics ever written. In it, Mill argues that the only purpose for which government should exist is to protect the rights of individuals. He goes on to say that the most important of these rights is the right to liberty, which includes the freedom…
- Andrew CopsonInterview
On Liberty by John Stuart Mill or – if it’s not a cheat of an answer – the complete works of John Stuart Mill. So many of the foundations of our modern liberal democratic societies are not only elucidated but also defended there – and in the clearest possible prose. Many people don’t think today about why the good…
- Paul RussellInterview
Around age 16 I read A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway, which I found a powerful and absorbing work (with a lot of pathos). I think that an intelligent teenager will enjoy this book and is old enough to appreciate its themes and concerns. At age 25 I would suggest The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It…
- The Most Important Philosophy BooksReading list
Actually written in collaboration with Mill’s wife, Harriet Tylor, is a crucial and still very much relevant discussion of the limits of personal freedom. Mill and Tylor articulate their famous harm principle, according to which the only reasonable constraint to be imposed on the liberty of individuals are to stop…
- Philip ReeveInterview
I think they need to find their own books, reading as widely and as adventurously as possible. But I think I’d encourage them to read On Liberty by John Stuart Mill: I find a lot of young people have rather illiberal views, wanting to ban opinions they don’t like and demonising people who disagree with them. (Perhaps…
Often recommended alongside
The Republic
A Treatise of Human NatureMore books by John Stuart Mill our guests recommend
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