John Stuart Mill

I have read excerpts from the work On Liberty before so I was somewhat familiar with John Stuart Mill prior to reading about him in the text. I do feel strongly that freedom of the press is one of the greatest things about some counties of the modern world, but I also feel that this freedom can be the downfall of so many as well. While reading Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion from On Liberty I was drawn to the very beginning of the material which states:

The time, it is to be hoped, is gone by, when any defence would be necessary of the “liberty of the press” as one of the securities against corrupt or tyrannical government. If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.

Reading these lines once was not enough for me, but rather I read them several times and afterwards thought about them for quite some time. I was amazed by the way that Mill phrased this thought because it was so eloquent yet abrasive at the same time. It was beautifully written while still being a flagrant critique of the government and its censorship of the press. It also points out that the right to a free press is somewhat of a last line of defense against a government that has become corrupted because the press would be the main way that the general public would learn of any events that were taking place within the ranks of the government and since the government have power over the people it is important that they are kept in check by that very same public.