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Cover of Collected Works of John Stuart Mill

Collected Works of John Stuart Mill

Edited by John M. Robson

  • Published: 1981
  • DOI: 10.4324/9780415480581
  • Set ISBN: 9780415480581

Set Contents

Essays on Politics and Society


the essays in this volume comprise the main body of Mill’s writings specifically on political and social theory, including On Liberty and Considerations on Representative Government, his most valued contributions to this area. Given his abiding interest in the application of theory to experience, and the testing of theory by experience, and given also his view of the “consensus” that obtains in social states, it is impossible to isolate essays that deal only with political and social theory, or to include in one volume (or even in several) all his essays that touch on such matters. Perhaps the most obviously necessary exclusions in a volume of this kind are the final Books of the System of Logic and the Principles of Political Economy, both of which are essential to an understanding of Mill’s ideas. The decision to include or exclude particular essays is in large measure a pragmatic one, and students of Mill’s political and social thought will want to refer, inter alia, to some of his essays and newspaper writings on economics, on particular political and social events, and on law and equality, which will be found in other volumes of the Collected Works. The main characteristics determining the selection of the essays in this volume are the focus on abiding and theoretical questions, and thematic interdependence.

Volume Contents

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    Front Matter
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    Introduction By Alexander Brady
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    Textual Introduction By John M. Robson
  • Use and Abuse of Political Terms 1832
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      Editor’s Note By John M. Robson
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      Use and Abuse of Political Terms
  • Rationale of Representation 1835
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      Editor’s Note By John M. Robson
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      Rationale of Representation
  • De Tocqueville on Democracy in America [I] 1835
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      Editor’s Note By John M. Robson
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      De Tocqueville on Democracy in America [I]
  • State of Society in America 1836
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      Editor’s Note By John M. Robson
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      State of Society in America
  • Civilization 1836
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      Editor’s Note By John M. Robson
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      Civilization
  • Essays on Government 1840
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      Editor’s Note By John M. Robson
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      Essays on Government
  • De Tocqueville on Democracy in America [II] 1840
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      Editor’s Note By John M. Robson
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      De Tocqueville on Democracy in America [II]
  • Reform of the Civil Service 1854
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      Editor’s Note By John M. Robson
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      Reform of the Civil Service
  • On Liberty 1859
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      Editor’s Note By John M. Robson
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      Introductory
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      Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion
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      Of Individuality, as One of the Elements of Well-Being
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      Of the Limits to the Authority of Society over the Individual
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      Applications