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John Stuart Mill On Inequality

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Inequality, which can be social, political, and/or economic, usually defines how people are different within and between societies. Inequality in an individual difference within a country but it is also seen between countries when on region of the world may be at more of an advantage than other countries. Most of the readings and discussions that we have had so far in class have been bases on inequality due to differences in class, or status, and political views, which ultimately come from differences in wages and salaries. These issues of inequality are explored through classical and neoclassical economics, Social Darwinism, Marxism, and colonialism, which will all be discussed throughout this reflection. Classical and neoclassical economics, …show more content…

He agrees that there is happiness and “reverse happiness, which he refers to as pain, and that these feelings drive people to act in their self-interested. He states that the authority is in place to protect the citizens from each other, but not to intervene in the citizens’ day-to-day life. In other words, inequality of rights is there to protect the people and remind them control their feelings. On the economic side of this, Mill believed that capitalism was soon going to evolve into cooperativism, in which people would work together to make their goals an interest of the whole society, thus creating more …show more content…

The brain evolves as it is influenced by society to always do better and compete with everyone to achieve the best and overcome inequality. They discuss Darwinism on a societal level as well as an international level. An example of this is when they talk about modernization, which they describe as: “if you want to develop, be like us (the West)” (Peet and Hatwick, p.120). This is why there is such a gap in inequality; the first world countries, such as countries in the west think they know, and are, the best, therefore, everyone should be equal to them. But in actual fact, it is countries like these that make sure that inequality works in their favor and that there is always the hegemonic state and those who are dependent. They go on to talk about how naturalism, in which they refer it to be the “ability to develop earlier and faster than others because of natural superiority” (Peet and Hartwick, p.120). I do not agree that these are the actual definitions, but, however, these statements depict the reality of how things work today; of how the theories are interpreted and

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Mill actually believes that people could not survive by only thinking themselves. In other words, people could not become more selfish as much as Kant stated because life force people to give importance to others. Since, they may be succeeding what they desire to do when they help each other on their necessities. Mill defends that people can accomplish individually of aims and closures ought to be considered some portion of their happiness.

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The course description claims that the class would focus on the “Interdependence of political and economic structures and processes in the development and management of the modern world economy.” This shows that the course may focus more on international politics, and therefore, implies that it would either discuss inequality on a global scale, or focus on the effect of inequality on international affairs and international political economy. Comparing different structures and varying attitudes towards inequality between countries would not only deepen our understanding by providing new perspectives, but would also illustrate the global impact of unequal distributions of wealth. However, since domestic affairs influence foreign policy, the course would definitely consider what domestic problems impact decisions that are made within organizations should as the World Trade Organization or the European Union. Inequality may be a domestic concern, especially for us in the United States, but we have learned in this class that almost all of the OECD countries are experiencing

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John Stuart Mill was an English philosopher, economist, and one of the most influential thinkers of his time. John Stuart was born in a quaint neighborhood in London. His father James, a philosopher and economist, educated John Stuart through his teens. John Stuart was not allowed to associate with the children in his neighborhood. His father wanted him to devote his time to his studies.

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An alternative option, supported by Mill and anti-Eyre movements for example, was therefore one questioning the generalised method of oppressing people and crushing riots when any occurred. Rather, it preventively advocated for an equal treatment of all regardless of race in order to avoid embittering impressions of

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Why did all of a sudden beliefs become necessary in college? Beliefs are valuable to live life and are personal. However after reading a chapter from a book called College Thinking: How to Get the Best Out of College, by Jack Meiland, Meiland presented a variety of points discussing the importance of having reasoning to their beliefs and claims. His statements are agreeable and appealing for the reason for being a high school student and soon to be a college student. Meiland reveals that beliefs play a significant role when elaborating the differences between the idea that high school is the basis of authority and college is the basis of reasoning.

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Dr. Simon Clarke published an article called Mill, Liberty & Euthanasia in which his thesis states that, “deciding when to die is a matter of individuality” (Clarke 1). Dr. Clarke backs up his thesis by using some of the rationalities behind John Stuart Mill’s Liberty Principle. According to the Liberty Principle, people should be free to pursue their greatest good as long as it does not cause harm for the community. Secondly, the principle argues that when people are free they have the ability to seek their “individuality” therefore liberty benefits the person. For example, a person develops their individuality by developing their skills, personality, values, and potential.

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Throughout Mill’s essay, he argues against the oppressive tyranny of the government in silencing the opinions of others. He warns that “there needs to be protection also against the tyrant of the prevailing opinion of feeling; against the tendency of society to impose… its own ideas on those who dissent from them” (Mill 9). Mill justifies this statement by explaining that limiting government interference in the life of the individual ensures the absence of despotism or, in other words, tyranny (Mill 9). From a political/philosophical standpoint, allowing individuals to speak freely affords others the ability to be challenged and through this one can eliminate falsehoods and discover the truth in society in ways that tyranny denies (Mill 19). Mill’s view on truth, social progress, and utility are fully in accordance with my own.

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I believe that Mill’s theory of individuality for freedom of ideas will allow for the development of progress as opposed to Marx and Engels viewpoint of hostility towards

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An encouragement for all the citizens to live an autonomous life highlights Mill's belief on utilitarianism. This idea of utilitarianism states every individual having the right to increase their own utility as long as it does not cause trouble to others. A thought-provoking point Mill makes in this chapter is the idea of self-government. He is concerned about people creating their own government and decisions. Mill strongly believes that this kind of individual decision-making is more dangerous than an authoritarian government.

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If people have no place to voice their will or take part in deciding their own destiny, the community might grow disinterested and passive in their relationship with their government. Mill believes this is problematic for society because history, as he sees it, has shown that more democratic societies have more ‘energetic, and ‘developed’ societies as well as more ‘go ahead characters’ not seen in more totalitarian societies. Yet, this criticism might fail to cover a deeper problem of disinterest; it might lead to a level of moral deficiency as well. Mill fears that a loss of ability and activity, leads to a society losing its sense of communal responsibility and social justice. In their aloofness, people might be less inclined to believe that they have any responsibility to society since society has ceased to have any rights or purpose under absolute authority.

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In the society of today, discussion on the topic of freedom of speech is at a forefront. The question on whether there are any limitations on the freedom of speech is one which causes a constant battle between “right and wrong” within the media and with public institutions. The argument that there are no limitations to expression is one which bears a lot of support from not just the liberalist area of society, but also quite often draws a lot of support from the conservative part too, as it is something that allows both sides to express their opinions. The importance of expressing ones opinions is something that the philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill believes is a fundamental part of human liberty. It is certainly true that there are always more than one way of looking at a situation, and finding truth within a situation can only be found if there are no limitations to people’s freedom of expressing their opinions on the said situation.

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In the discussion of social inequality, one cannot leave out the sociological theories and models proposed by Karl Marx and Adam Smith. Generally, social inequality refers to the presence of unequal treatment, opportunities and rewards tied to people of various social standings within the hierarchy of a community group or society. Some common types of social inequality include wealth and income disparity as well as social class stratification. For Marx and Smith, both had explored the various types of social inequality in society.

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John Stuart Mill, at the very beginning of chapter 2 entitled “what is utilitarianism”. starts off by explaining to the readers what utility is, Utility is defined as pleasure itself, and the absence of pain. This leads us to another name for utility which is the greatest happiness principle. Mill claims that “actions are right in proportions as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.” “By Happiness is intended pleasure and the absence of pain, by happiness, pain and the privation of pleasure”.

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Therefore, in a stratified society, the individual’s opportunities are always determined by his or her social class. In this essay, I will be arguing that even though mobility exists in the social class system, the opportunity to change status is relatively open for everyone but the distribution of opportunities among the members of a social class is not relatively equal to all. I will demonstrate this point by showing how participation of an individual in a specific social class will decide the opportunities in terms of attaining education and achieving a well-paid job. Education has a significant role in promoting social mobility; it enables people to acquire knowledge and certain skills in order to promote their social status. Nowadays, people believe that societies are based on meritocratic

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