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the_grimm_reader 's review for:
On Liberty
by John Stuart Mill
Where to begin with this review?
First and foremost, On Liberty is not a lightweight read. It demands your full attention and every ounce of comprehension you can muster. Mill pushes deeper into the philosophy of personal liberty—and the tension between the free, autonomous individual and their place within society—than anything I’ve previously encountered.
This essay challenged me in ways I didn’t expect. It prompted me to consider perspectives I’d never taken the time to engage with, and, more than once, I found myself feeling ashamed. Mill holds up a mirror to the reader, and I saw reflected in it the micro-tyrannies that quietly reside in my own thinking. It was uncomfortable, but necessary.
I’d like to think this work would have had a profound effect on me had I been exposed to it at a younger age—maybe in grade school. But if I’m being honest, it’s a dense and heady piece of philosophy, and my adolescent mind might not have been fertile ground for its ideas. Still, I can’t help but wish that some portion of Mill’s thinking could be distilled into a digestible form and shared with young people today.
In an age where the slow creep of authoritarianism—yes, even tyrannicide—seems to be gathering speed, it would be good for the next generation to understand the value of personal liberty. Not just in theory, but as a principle worth standing for. Worth defending. Not just for ourselves, but for others, even those we may disagree with.
Mill’s On Liberty dovetails beautifully with the ideals found in the founding documents and letters of the American Revolution and Constitution. It is my hope that his work finds new life in our time and inspires a fresh, fiery fervor for liberty—an idea that seems increasingly treated as a novelty while so many of my countrymen inch toward authoritarian adoration and boot-licking complacency.
I was raised with the belief that liberty is a treasure. That in a free society, we must protect it—especially when it's challenged. Liberty, even (and especially) for our foes.
These ideas—presented with such clarity, elegance, and force by John Stuart Mill—are not just philosophical musings. They are foundational. They are essential. And they are paramount to the survival of any democratic constitutional republic. On Liberty should not be left on dusty shelves or reduced to a passing reference in academic circles. It should be elevated, embraced, and taught with the urgency it deserves.
Because liberty, once lost, is not easily reclaimed.
First and foremost, On Liberty is not a lightweight read. It demands your full attention and every ounce of comprehension you can muster. Mill pushes deeper into the philosophy of personal liberty—and the tension between the free, autonomous individual and their place within society—than anything I’ve previously encountered.
This essay challenged me in ways I didn’t expect. It prompted me to consider perspectives I’d never taken the time to engage with, and, more than once, I found myself feeling ashamed. Mill holds up a mirror to the reader, and I saw reflected in it the micro-tyrannies that quietly reside in my own thinking. It was uncomfortable, but necessary.
I’d like to think this work would have had a profound effect on me had I been exposed to it at a younger age—maybe in grade school. But if I’m being honest, it’s a dense and heady piece of philosophy, and my adolescent mind might not have been fertile ground for its ideas. Still, I can’t help but wish that some portion of Mill’s thinking could be distilled into a digestible form and shared with young people today.
In an age where the slow creep of authoritarianism—yes, even tyrannicide—seems to be gathering speed, it would be good for the next generation to understand the value of personal liberty. Not just in theory, but as a principle worth standing for. Worth defending. Not just for ourselves, but for others, even those we may disagree with.
Mill’s On Liberty dovetails beautifully with the ideals found in the founding documents and letters of the American Revolution and Constitution. It is my hope that his work finds new life in our time and inspires a fresh, fiery fervor for liberty—an idea that seems increasingly treated as a novelty while so many of my countrymen inch toward authoritarian adoration and boot-licking complacency.
I was raised with the belief that liberty is a treasure. That in a free society, we must protect it—especially when it's challenged. Liberty, even (and especially) for our foes.
These ideas—presented with such clarity, elegance, and force by John Stuart Mill—are not just philosophical musings. They are foundational. They are essential. And they are paramount to the survival of any democratic constitutional republic. On Liberty should not be left on dusty shelves or reduced to a passing reference in academic circles. It should be elevated, embraced, and taught with the urgency it deserves.
Because liberty, once lost, is not easily reclaimed.