Participation, deliberation and excellence (in the public and private spheres). On Mill’s Political Philosophy

Abstract

John Stuart Mill is an author who generates fascination and loyalty in equal measure with indifference and paternalism. The former is due to the outstanding coherence between his ideas, his life and his political actions, while the latter has led to him being denounced as an author who is too eclectic and difficult to classify, being neither liberal or socialist. At present, we are witnessing a flood of publications in a celebration of the two-hundredth anniversary of Mill’s birth. This is an appropriate moment to consider why Mill and his work continue to gain depth of meaning and relevance to the present. This article focuses on his political philosophy, one of the least studied aspects of his work, though increasingly valued. We examine his thoughts on participatory and deliberative democracy, in addition to his call for the extension of these principals to the private and economic sphere.