Pros And Cons Of Being Tyranny

537 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Tyranny In Government

Andie Aldana
Professor Butler
Political Thoery
03/23/2018
Why is tyranny of the majority worse than tyranny of government?

Tyranny of the majority is worse than tyranny of the government because although governments pose a potential threat to individual liberty, societies can pose an even greater threat. Power lies in numbers, when a group of people hold this power it is a painful fight to be on if you are on the opposition. “Society can and does execute its own mandates: and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things in which it ought not to meddle, it practices a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties it leaves …show more content…

Naturally, individuals who deviate from these social norms are opening an opportunity for them to potentially be shunned and ostracized by the majority. Often times, individuals are therefore forced to conform to social norms in order to avoid social wrath. This way of living however can become intolerable In comparison to governmental tyranny, due to the fact that we participate in our societies daily. It is hard to live a life in an environment where you are constantly out-casted, ostracized, and shunned by your fellow members of society, there is no way of escaping it.
In conclusion, Mills does a great job of painting this visual of a society in which the individuals look out for the best interest of one another. Mills believed in a lot of individual liberties and the limits of authority the government had when it came to intervening individual liberties, even if they lead to self harm. Once an individual puts others in potential harm however, is when not only the government, but society as a whole has a civil responsibility to partake in the punishment of the law

Show More
Related

  • Mill Vs Metternich

    412 Words  | 1 Pages

    He is was total opposite of Metternich. Mill’s “On liberty” essay was about the individual liberty. To Mill’s, the only important thing is the happiness of the individual, and such happiness may only be accomplished in an enlightened society, in which people are free to partake in their own interests. Thus, Mills stresses the important value of individuality, of personal development, both for the individual and society for future progress. For Mill, an educated person is the one who acts on what he or she understands and who does everything in his or her power to understand. Mill held this model out to all people, not just the specially gifted, and advocates individual initiative over social control. He emphasizes that things done by individuals are done better than those done by governments. Also, individual action advances the mental education of that individual, something that government action cannot ever do, and for government action always poses a threat to liberty and must be carefully

    Read More

  • Sociological Imagination By C. Wright Mills

    796 Words  | 2 Pages

    The concept of sociological imaginations allows us to get out of our own judgment zone with regards to how we think about social problems. Instead, it allows us to step into the other person’s shoes to see things from their own perspectives. Also, to try as hard as we can to understand why that problem might exist for that individual. C. Wright Mills argument is that we should develop a method or a way of looking at things in the society from the point of view of the person experiencing the sociological phenomenon. In essence, we can’t look at things from our own moral point of view; we need to look at things from the point of view of the person experiencing the issue, the concern, and the problem. Mills believes that the individual cannot understand themselves as individuals; also they can’t understand their role in society without this understanding....

    Read More

  • Utilitarianism and Morality in John Stuart Mill´s Essay

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    For more than two thousand years, the human race has struggled to effectively establish the basis of morality. Society has made little progress distinguishing between morally right and wrong. Even the most intellectual minds fail to distinguish the underlying principles of morality. A consensus on morality is far from being reached. The struggle to create a basis has created a vigorous warfare, bursting with disagreement and disputation. Despite the lack of understanding, John Stuart Mill confidently believes that truths can still have meaning even if society struggles to understand its principles. Mill does an outstanding job at depicting morality and for that the entire essay is a masterpiece. His claims throughout the essay could not be any closer to the truth.

    Read More

  • Improving Society: Mill’s On Liberty and Marx’s Communist Manifesto

    1690 Words  | 4 Pages

    In relation to social obligations and advancement of society, Mill writes advocating the expression of one’s opinion as the main driving force. Mill states, “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 sile...

    Read More

  • The Influence Of Conformity To Society

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    In society, it's difficult to go against the norm. Individuals are compelled to act a specific way, or look a specific way in order to be accepted. For instance, teenagers may encounter pressure from their peers to partake in specific exercises that may not be moral, since they feel the need to fit in. This weight of conformity isn't just present in reality; it can be found in literature as well. The story "St. Lucy’s Home For Girls Raised by Wolves" by Karen Russell depicts that in order to conform to society, individuals abandon their selflessness and compassion and become selfish and apathetic.

    Read More

  • C. Wright Mills' The Sociological Imagination

    1763 Words  | 4 Pages

    Fundamental to Mills’ theory is the idea of ‘public issues’. the ‘private trouble’. An individual’s troubles are personal when they occur because of the person’s character. Public issues, however, are a direct result of the problems within. society, they affect people hugely but often the individual will assign the problem as their own personal downfall rather than as a a societal problem..

    Read More

  • Conformity And Nonconformity

    771 Words  | 2 Pages

    society, there is not only a tolerance of certain kinds of non-conformity, but sometimes uniqueness and individuality are celebrated. For example, in the last presidential election both Bernie Sander and Donald Trump were campaigning “against” the establishment. They were nonconformist candidates whose campaigns gained supporters based almost entirely on the fact that their ideas went against the “mainstream” candidate moderates in their political parties. Also, in the U.S. today, the government doesn’t enforce conformity. In fact, the Supreme Court has made some decisions in recent years on issues like gay marriage that have upheld the right to be a nonconformist. However, although the government doesn’t enforce conformity, there are many ways that individuals encourage others to conform. For example, in schools and other institutions, individuals who “don’t fit in” are often harassed and bullied for being different. People who look different, dress different, or act different, face a lot of hostility. Also, it is common for individuals with differing opinions, particularly, on political issues to shout each other down. Social media is a platform where often people with unpopular ideas or opinions get bullied into being quiet and keeping their opinion to themselves. Therefore, even though, we seemingly live in a society that is tolerant of nonconformity, there are pressures to conform and be like everyone

    Read More

  • Women Of The Upper Class Analysis

    1202 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wright Mill’s, regarding the fact that freedom, wealth, and equality are things that are not properly exercised in the “new society of America”. “We confront there a new kind of social structure, which embodies elements and tendencies of all modern society, but in which they have assumed a more naked and flamboyant prominence”. Essentially Mills is stating that the methods in which we as a society used to interpret politics, economics, etc. cannot be applied anymore due to the fact that modern society has evolved so much. Due to the fact that in modern day, the upper class elites have the largest influence on how essentially all aspects of society are run, it disregards the lower class’s abilities to exercise their rights to freedom and

    Read More

  • Stuart Mill Paternalism

    1093 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the more severe charges against Mill's conception of liberty involves socio-cultural background of the author's politics. Mill advocates paternalism on moral grounds in several instances that suggest an intellectual bias and a level of intellectual superiority, embedded in the nineteenth century culture and the Western world. Under Mill's paradigm, freedom is limited to those who are capable of rationality, allowing despotism as a sufficient alternative to 'educating' in all other instances (Goldberg, 2000). Thus, one's incompetence allows for a coercive force and social control (Conly, 2013).

    Read More

  • Comparing John Locke, John Stuart Mill, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau

    2030 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...Mill does not implicitly trust or distrust man and therefore does not explicitly limit freedom, in fact he does define freedom in very liberal terms, however he does leave the potential for unlimited intervention into the personal freedoms of the individual by the state. This nullifies any freedoms or rights individuals are said to have because they subject to the whims and fancy of the state. All three beliefs regarding the nature of man and the purpose of the state are bound to their respective views regarding freedom, because one position perpetuates and demands a conclusion regarding another.

    Read More

  • John Stuart Mills One Very Simple Principle

    2396 Words  | 5 Pages

    Then that individual must be left to his own devices, mill makes this apparent when he states "the individual is not accountable to society for his actions, in so far as these concern the interests of no person but himself" it is also crucial to our understanding at this point to mention that while mill does not contend that all opinions and schools of thought are of equal worth either morally or intellectually, he strongly purports the notion of freedom of speech, and states that individuals or groups of individuals also should be allowed to voice opinions and promote ideas which they believe in despite how unpopular they may prove to be among general society, to the extent that those who hold such opinions are in the minority, mill illustrates this when he states "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” this touches one another key area of Millean scholarship that is crucial to our understanding of mills 'one very simple principle' and that is the notion of the tyranny of the majority which is a scenario

    Read More

  • Utilitarianism in Government

    1664 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...terests of all who could be affected by the course our actions. Obviously, as human beings we can never consider all possible choices, calculate and compare consequences quantitatively, and be without bias. Your obligation is to do the best you can, while considering as many choices as possible. One could argue that, amidst the capitalist climate of our current world, utilitarianism calls upon us to look beyond the self for the greater good. Wouldn't it be admirable if all governments could follow this maxim? To conclude on the same point at Mills, “Whether it is so or not, must now be left to the consideration of the thoughtful reader”.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Legal Moralism

    732 Words  | 2 Pages

    Meaning that a state or an individual can limit another person’s liberty in an effort to protect the person from self-harm, since it justifies the restricting of liberty to engage in actions that threaten imminent harm to others. As utilitarianism, Mill tries to find the best possible outcome for the greatest number of

    Read More

  • John Stuart Mill's Harm Principle

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    My thoughts and feelings on Mill vary, but I’d like to share my negative opinion towards the principle and hope to put it in a different perspective. The harm principle was published in Mill’s work, Of Liberty, in 1859. He states, “That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant (978).” This means that government is not able to control peoples’ actions unless they are causing harm to other individuals.

    Read More

  • A Critical Analysis of John Stuart Mill’s "On Liberty"

    1403 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...nturies. Mill presents a clear and insightful argument, claiming that the government should not be concerned with the free will of the people unless explicit harm has been done to an individual. However, such ideals do not build a strong and lasting community. It is the role of the government to act in the best interests at all times through the prevention of harm and the encouragement of free thought.

    Read More

More about Pros And Cons Of Being Tyranny

Open Document