POG 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Free Market

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Politics and Public Administration
• Course: POG 100
• Professor: Donna Schatz

Document Summary

To avoid such an unpleasant state, hobbes reasoned, people form a social contract and civil society with a sovereign authority (government or ruler to preserve order). This would not interfere unnecessarily in people"s lives. The idea is that there is absolute freedom and equality in the state of nature (i. e. without government), but that people agree to certain limitations on such freedoms in exchange for the protection of life, liberty, and property. The key here is to have a limited form of government as a trustee of the people, one which can be removed if it infringes liberties. The idea behind bentham"s conception is the greatest happiness principle, or the idea that the measure of right and wrong in terms of government action is the greatest happiness of the greatest number. John stuart mill is also a utilitarian who believes in limited government: he was a proponent of liberty and free speech.