POLI 232 Chapter Notes -Tyrant, John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
15 Dec 2012
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The government"s power, unless balanced with the liberty of the people within it, is very dangerous to society. First section deals with the repression of ideas: repressed ideas may be true, governments cannot repress ideas for the good of society, as such repression is not infallible. Debate supports the truth, in that dissent only strengthens the truth when put down. Progress stems from the substituting of one partial truth for another only dissent and debate can bring to light new ideas. Society only has a right to advise its citizens.
