On Liberty

THE subject of this Essay is non the so-called Liberty of the Will, so unfortunately opposed to the misnamed doctrine of Philosophical Necessity; alone Civil, or Social Liberty: the nature and limits of the power which force verboten be legitimately exercised by society over the individual. A question seldom stated, and hardly ever discussed, in ecumenic terms, but which profoundly influences the practical controversies of the age by its possible presence, and is likely soon to make itself recognized as the vital question of the future. It is so far from being new, that, in a certain sense, it has divided mankind, almost from the remotest ages, but in the go for of progress into which the more civilized portions of the species have now entered, it presents itself under new conditions, and requires a different and more fundamental treatment. The beseech betwixt Liberty and Authority is the most conspicuous trait in the portions of history with which we are earliest fa miliar, particularly in that of Greece, Rome, and England. But in old times this contest was surrounded by subjects, or some classes of subjects, and the government. By liberty, was meant protection against the tyranny of the political rulers.

The rulers were conceived (except in some of the popular governments of Greece) as in a necessarily antagonistic position to the people whom they ruled. They consisted of a physical composition One, or a governing tribe or caste, who derived their principle from inheritance or conquest; who, at all events, did not hold it at the pleasure of the governed, and whose supremacy men did not venture, perhaps did not desire, to contest, whatever preca utions might be stooln against its oppress! ive exercise. Their power was regarded as necessary, but also as highly dangerous; as a weapon which they would take on to use against their subjects, no less than against external enemies. To save the weaker members of the fraternity from being preyed upon by innumerable vultures, it was needful that there...If you urgency to wee a full essay, order it on our website: OrderEssay.net

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