On Liberty and "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"

The crux of On Liberty is the relationship between the society and the individual. Mill focuses first on the individual. He writes, "the individual is not accountable to society for his actions insofar as these concern the interests of no person but himself" (Mill, 156). Nevertheless, when one's actions begin to affect others in a negative way, society has a right to intervene and protest as it sees fit. Reasonable self-interest, therefore, is the guiding light for moral interaction with others.

Under these guidelines, Mill casts an unjust state as one that does not allow for the flourishing of individuality. He writes, "Even despotism does not produce its worst effects, so long as Individuality exists under it; and whatever crushes individuality is despotism" (Mill 128). The great debate for Mill is how tyr

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Mill's view of social improvement derives from his interest in individual mental freedom. Mill writes that the individual's right to protest authority rests with his own experience and opinion. He cannot let the world dictate his life (Mill 108). The individual must choose opinions and act on his beliefs. This spirit of liberty "may aim at forcing improvements on an unwilling people" (Mill 134). Likewise, King's ideal individual "has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws" (King 3). He too must choose for himself what beliefs to follow, and King himself broke the law against parading without a permit in order to persuade others to follow the Supreme Court's 1954 ruling against segregation. Furthermore, Mill and King agree that when a group or individual stifles the freedom of others, each individual must express his grievances. King writes that because the majority in power in the South has refused to negotiate with African-American leaders, they are forced to confront authorities (King 2). From across the century Mill concurs, writing that, "the peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is robbing the human race" (Mill 87). The perils of silence are so dreadful to Mill because, "not only the grounds o
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Approximate Word count = 1469
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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