John Stuart Mill's Liberal-Utilitarian Conception of Democracy

ISBN-13: 9783639118216 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 320 str.

Tila Brilhante

Opis

It is evident that almost all of the commentariesproduced since the early 1860s on John Stuart Millspolitical philosophy in general, and on his accountof democracy in particular, have serious deficiencies. Among these deficiencies, three inparticular are worth mentioning: 1) the lack ofrecognition of the fact that a peoccupation withaccountability has a central role in Mills politicalthought; 2) the propensity to separate the study ofthe socio-political institutions that Mill proposedfrom the broader concerns of his moral and politicalphilosophy; and 3) the disregard of the fact thatMill believed that socio-political reforms had totake into account the characteristics ofnational character, the historical trends operatingin society, and the characteristics of human nature.This thesis argues that accountability was a centralconcern in Mills liberalutilitarian thought. It wasa concern that permeated his attempts to constructinstitutions which would prevent groups andgovernments from imposing their wishes on others andfacilitate the removal from power of those who weregoverning against the interests of society.

O autorze

Átila Amaral Brilhante lectures at UFC (Federal University of
Ceará/Brazil) since 1995. He published Liberalismo e Ética: a
Crítica de John Stuart Mill ao Estado mínimo in 1998. At the
moment, his research is focused on the ethical aspects of
economic regulation.