This book gathers together for the first time J.S. Mill's On Liberty and a selection of important essays by the eminent scholars Isaiah Berlin, Alan Ryan, John Rees C.L. Ten and Richard Wollheim on Mill's seminal work.

This volume brings together J.S. Mills On Liberty and a selection of important essays by such eminent scholars as Isaiah Berlin, Alan Ryan, John Rees, C.L. Ten and Richard Wollheim. As well as providing authoritative commentary upon On Liberty, the essays reflect a broader debate about the philosophical foundations of Mill's liberalism, particularly the question of the connection betweenMill's professed utilitarianism and his commitment to individual liberty. Introduced and edited by John Gray and G.W. Smith, the book will be of interest to students of Mill, to ethical and political philosophers and to anyone interested in the contemporary status of liberalism.

A wonderful edition... -- Irving Louis Horowitz, Rutgers UniversityAlexander should be commended for making this invaluable material accessible to scholars and students... -- Maria H. Moralies, Florida State UniversityAn impressively compact and engaging introduction and a well-chosen selection of ancillary materials... -- Eileen Gillooly, Columbia UniversityThe introduction offers fresh insights... --Thomas Christiano, University of Arizona

Now available in paperback, this second edition reproduces the text of the first with the addition of an extensive postscript which defends the interpretation of Mill set out in the first edition.

In his much quoted, seminal work, On Liberty, John Stuart Mill attempts to establish standards for the relationship between authority and liberty. He emphasizes the importance of individuality which he conceived as a prerequisite to the higher pleasures-the summum bonum of Utilitarianism. Published in 1859, On Liberty presents one of the most eloquent defenses of individual freedom and is perhaps the most widely-read liberal argument in support of the value of liberty.

The arguments advanced in the second chapter of On Liberty have become the touchtstone of discussions of freedom of speech, yet the broader development of his ideas has been ignored. This book attempts to redress this lacuna.

Mill's "On Liberty" is a statement in favour of the rights of the individual. This text introduces and assesses Mill's life and the background of "On Liberty". The ideas of the work are considered along with the continuing importance of Mill's work to philosophy and political thought today.