On Liberty is Mill's famous examination of the nature of individuality and its crucial role in any social system that expects to remain creative and vital. Utilitarianism brilliantly expounds a pragmatic ethic based on one controversial proposition: actions are right only if they promote the common good and wrong if they do not While much of Mill's thinking was eventually adopted by socialists,it is in today's democratic societies-with their troubling issues of crime,freedom of speech, and the boundaries of personal liberty-that his work resounds most powerfully.

 Together,these two essays mark the philosophic cornerstone of democratic morality and represent a thought-provoking search for the true balance between the rights of the individual and the power of the state,Thoroughly schooled in the principles of the utilitarian movement founded by Jeremy Benfham,John Stuart Mill nevertheless brings his own unique intellectual energy to issues such as individual freedom,equality,authority,happiness,justice,and virtue.

INTRODUCTION

"Mill, On Liberty"by Alan M. Dershowitz

ON LIBERTY

I. Introductory

II. Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion

III. Of Individuality, as One of the Elements of Well-Being

IV. Of the Limits to the Authority of Society over the Individual

V. Applications

UTILITARIANISM

I. General Remarks

II. What Utilitarianism Is

III. Of the Ultimate Sanction of the Principle of Utility

IV. Of What Sort of Proof the Principle of Utility Is Susceptible

V.  On the Connection between Justice and Utility