Mill believes liberty is needed for full development of human nature.

Having liberty and being able to make your free choice will flourish your capacity as a human.

Individuals need to free themselves from being slaves of customs.

This view will consequently deny the notion that individuals are social beings.

They have a meaning and a value in the society.

Their personalities shape up in society.

What makes a society the society is customs and traditions, which create a bond between individuals and provide an environment to live in harmony.

Liberal notion argues that customs and traditions limit individuals’ potential.

Social values are not progressive, but conservative. Against change…

Different ideas and approaches will create an environment of progress that individuals will find their real personalities and potential.

Unleashed potentials will help the society to progress.

An individual who disregards social values and norms, lives a self-centric life, which will possibly be a harm for society.

Once individuals are free and progressed they will be more valuable to themselves and to others.

Life is an experiment and individuals should be allowed to experience it.

Good or bad experiment will guide others too eventually, since they see a bad model or a role model.

Mill says some of us might be more adventurous than others.

This will obviously contribute to others’ lives too.

Good experience will increase possibility of others following the path that is already explored.

More possibility for happiness.

Mill’s optimistic notion that everyone will learn from others’ mistake is wishful thinking.

We see how people make the same mistakes over and over.

How about uneducated and barbarians?

They may have no interest in learning from others’ experience at all.

Dwelling the need for progress on liberty may not be a good argument for Mill.

Liberty of individuals is limited by their economic status and freedom.

An important concern for individuals to benefit from liberties is to be financially self-sufficient.

Poor people, workers, uneducated may not be able to practice their right to freedom as they desire.

Liberty as an Intrinsic Good

Mill thinks of liberty as a utilitarian.

He pursues happiness in liberty.

He thinks liberties will increase happiness for the society since progress depends mostly on individual liberties.

Utilitarian thought argues that happiness is the only intrinsic good.

Mill argues that if we like to reach happiness we need to have liberty.

It cannot be limited, but unlimited liberties will lead anarchy.

In modern times, laws of many countries are not consistent with ‘Liberty Principle’.

Banning euthanasia, dueling, and incest between siblings, prostitution are examples of such laws.

Society has its moral values and it is understandable to make criminal laws in accordance with those social norms.

Laws usually stem from those social norms anyway.

If anyone breaks these laws, it is normal that they are considered as offenders.

Society has responsibility to protect its values according to Lord Justin Devlin, author of Moral and the Criminal Law article in 1957.

Marxist Objections to Liberalism

Marx sees liberalism as shallow and superficial.

Political emancipation is fundamental.

Liberation of the society is essential, not the individual.

Individuals will find their territory in the politically emancipated society.

Socialists perceive religion as a barrier before liberating the society.

Equality will take place only if religion is abolished.

Individual himself cannot overcome the problem of inequality between the men.

He will be a plaything of alien powers.

Liberation is communal thing, not an individual one.

Individuals gain their identity and personality through social environment that they born, grew and live.

That is where an individual gets a place among the people.

Communitarian approach argues that liberals are wrong in isolating individuals from society and this way expecting them to benefit from liberty.

The right approach is to bring individuals into a place where they can make right and rational choices in the society.

Separating individuals from their social environment, and considering them single beings is against the nature of human kind.

Communitarians argue that liberalism encourages selfishness.

They perceive individuals as selfish, self-centered.

On the other side, communitarians promote a strong and big government, which aims to provide equality and a society without classes.

In this society, the idea is to create common good.

Everyone cares for one another.

However, liberals promote an individual type who is not social, does not care for others, but in pursuit of his own interest.

Sacrificing for others is an important aspect of being a member of a community.

Helping those who are in need is a moral obligation for humans.

Sense of community cannot be created by promoting liberalism; individual - centered life.

Liberalism is a doctrine that does not tell individuals how to live, but it requires that they be free.

In liberal thought, government is small, as small as possible.

It is designed to deliver basic services, such as security and justice.

It does not interfere with individuals’ way of life.

It does not create policies about how individuals should act and live.

One important criticism that liberalists get is that they emphasize individual rights, but not responsibilities and duties.

If someone has a right to something, then that individual should also have responsibility as well.

One important criticism to liberals is that liberals believe values are subjective or relative.

Since they do not have strong ties to the society they came from, they do not share society’s moral values.

Common norms are not applicable to the liberal idea.

Individuals will make choices that are in their best interest. Liberalism thinks that state should be neutral.

It should distance itself from interfering in social matters, such as subsidizing arts and sciences or banning brothel-houses.

State interference in economic activities, specially will have damaging impact on markets.

Market should correct itself in case that things go wrong.

Socialism and liberalism are completely opposite, particularly when it comes to the issue of regulating the markets.