Describes the philosopher's life from his development as a child prodigy, to his near suicide at the age of twenty-one, through his growth as a philosopher and social thinker.

Best known as the author of On Liberty, John Stuart Mill remains a canonical figure in liberalism today. Yet according to his autobiography, by the mid-1840s he placed himself "under the general designation of Socialist." Taking this self-description seriously, John Stuart Mill, Socialist reinterprets Mill's work in its light. Helen McCabe explores the nineteenth-century political economist's core commitments to egalitarianism, social justice, social harmony, and a socialist utopia of cooperation, fairness, and human flourishing. Uncovering Mill's changing relationship with the radicalism of his youth and his excitement about the revolutionary events of 1848, McCabe argues that he saw liberal reforms as solutions to contemporary problems, while socialism was the path to a better future. In so doing, she casts new light on his political theory, including his theory of social progress; his support for democracy; his feminism; his concept of utility; his understanding of individuality; and his account of "the permanent interests of man as a progressive being," which is so central to his famous harm principle. As we look to rebuild the world in the wake of financial crises, climate change, and a global pandemic, John Stuart Mill, Socialist offers a radical rereading of the philosopher and a fresh perspective on contemporary meanings of socialism.

Nicholas Capaldi's biography of John Stuart Mill traces the ways in which Mill's many endeavours are related and explores the significance of Mill's contribution to metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, social and political philosophy, the philosophy of religion, and the philosophy of education. He shows how Mill was groomed for his life by both his father James Mill, and Jeremy Bentham, the two most prominent philosophical radicals of the early nineteenth century. Yet Mill revolted against this education and developed friendships with both Thomas Carlyle and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who introduced him to Romanticism and political conservatism. A special feature of this biography is the attention devoted to his relationship with Harriet Taylor. No one exerted a greater influence than the woman he was eventually to marry. Nicholas Capaldi reveals just how deep her impact was on Mill's thinking about the emancipation of women.