Political Science 1020E Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: John Stuart Mill, Social Evolution, Harm Principle
10 Dec 2016
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Invisible hand: from self-interest to the public good. Conducive to order, good government, liberty, and security. Provide public education and the infrastructure needed to do business. Smith opposes trade barriers, but supports taxation to benefit the poor. The poor are dignified, industrious, equally capable, and entitled to their fair share of goods. Social reform aimed at maximizing human happiness. Some pleasures are (cid:498)higher(cid:499) than others (cid:523)fro example, intellectual pleasures(cid:524) We must seek happiness in our own way, using experience and education. Mill defends individuality and independent thought against oppressive, conformist majority tyranny. Individual freedom will lead to greater happiness, if human beings are capable of progress. Why no state aid to the poor: 1. They are unfit to survive: society is too complex to be controlled in the way government want, shouldn"t override property rights. Government is not merely a necessary evil. The state can advance individual liberty by promoting equally opportunities for all.
