Political Science 1020E Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: John Stuart Mill, Jeremy Bentham, Invisible Hand
4 Sep 2017
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Invisible hand: from self-interest to the public good. Benefits the worst off: will have access to goods still. Provide public education and the infrastructure needed to do business. 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. John stuart mill: threat of public opinion, tyranny of the majority, from laissez-faire to socialism. Why no state aid to the poor: they are unfit to survive, society is too complex to be controlled in the way governments want, should(cid:374)"t o(cid:448)erride property rights. Government is not merely a necessary evil. The state can advance individual liberty by promoting equal opportunities for all. Positive freedom: actual ability to do something worth doing. Main obstacles to freedom: poverty, ignorance, prejudice, sickness. Government can promote freedom through poor relief, public schools and hospitals, and regulation of working conditions.
