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Mill's Utilitarianism

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John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, "The Fourth Revolution: The Global Race to Reinvent the State" argue that civil government and state as we know them are tumbling, and predict the emergence of a new type of politico-social and economic structure in our Western societies on the verge to replace our ever-expending democratic states. The authors describe the modern world past “three and a half great revolutions” (p. 6) in government, all inspired and steered by the West. According to Mickletwait and Wooldridge, we are about to witness the rise of The Fourth Revolution, only this time the West will be left behind.

“Why the West has led the rest of the world for over three hundred years?” ask the authors – “a large part of the answer lies in the machinery of government” (p.27) they answer. The world liberal Western States that until recently relished an unparalleled stability …show more content…
Mill was a meritocratic system enthusiast, an utilitarian, and was “looking forward to the great and salutary moral revolution.” (p. 53) He became a prominent advocate for small government and of free-trade. Furthermore, Mill’s One Liberty (1859) claims that the “only justification for interfering in other people’s lives…was to prevent them from doing harm.” (p. 55) Mill made considerable steps leftwards hoping for “greater state intervention,” (p. 57) and realized that free trade on its own could not resolve in a fast-industrialization society, “such as controlling diseases and providing schools.” (p. 57) When Mill meet his faith the “high-Victorianism liberalism of One Liberty was under fire.” (p. 59) Europe was looking towards absolutism (p. 60) and French inspired by social solidarity. Moreover, the rise of Germany under Bismark in 1871 and their upcoming welfare state was taking the Western States to the left. Therefore, listening to Karl Mark’s (1818-1883) “perpetual class struggle” (p.

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