The Thinking of John Stuart Mill

Analyze the thinking of John Stuart Mill, including what he means by ‘true freedom’ in a liberal sense and, of course, his famous ‘HARM PRINCIPLE’. Then, after having explained Mill fully, also explain the Hart vs Devlin debate. As can see that debate is a ‘practical example’ of the way in which the ‘harm principle is employed in a Liberal Society.

As Herbert Hart is the one who defended John Stuart Mill’s ‘harm principle in that debate, and I think he clearly won the debate.

Need to explain the points made by the two protagonists in that debate, and explain – in particular – how Hart counters the arguments put forward by Devlin, in his (Hart’s) defense of the ‘harm principle.

setting out in detail the Liberal side of the ‘individualist’ vs ‘collectivist’ (or, you may say, Liberal vs Radical) debate. also refer very briefly to the Radical (i.e. the Collectivist) side of the debate, and point out how the radicals challenge the liberals about their focus on the individual – e.g.

for radicals, it is all about ‘group identity and ‘group oppression’ (‘whites’ oppressing ‘blacks’; ‘capitalists’ oppressing ‘workers’; ‘men’ oppressing ‘women’; etc). the focus must be mainly on the liberal side and WHY they think it is essential to focus on the INDIVIDUAL.