John Stuart Mill, Socialism, Pluralism and Competition

MCCABE, HELEN

Abstract

Most work on John Stuart Mill focuses on his account of liberty, but as Bruce Baum rightly argues, Mill’s commitment to “the free development of individuality” applied in the economic sphere as well as the political. Mill was a socialist, and as part of his decentralised, “liberal”, socialism, he endorsed a “pluralist” economy which combined consumer- and producer-cooperatives. His view of the transition to this “utopia” involved changes in character as well as economic systems, and his normative account is the focus of this article.
I challenge Dale E. Miller’s argument that Mill’s account of this transition would result in a “patchwork” of “socialistic” and “capitalistic” organisations, for overlooking the normative changes Mill believed restructuring economic organisation would necessitate. I note that without such significant changes in attitudes as to dismantle the patriarchy, there remains a risk that Mill’s “nearest approach to social justice” would leave women unequal, exploited, and unfree. I also respond to recent critiques by Joseph Persky that Mill offered too little detail about the impact of competition under socialism, again emphasising the possible impact of a change in motivations.

Citation

MCCABE, H. (in press). John Stuart Mill, Socialism, Pluralism and Competition. British Journal for the History of Philosophy,

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 16, 2024
• Deposit Date: Sep 23, 2024
• Journal: British Journal for the History of Philosophy
• Print ISSN: 0960-8788
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-3526
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/39982923