Neither Mill nor any other Utilitarian offered fixed principles to replace natural rights. Natural rights, as explained by thinkers like Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine, defined what governments could not rightfully do. Mill and other Utilitarians relentlessly attacked the doctrine of natural rights, a moral basis for liberty which had provided the only known intellectual barrier to tyranny. Yet from the standpoint of liberty generally, the philosophy behind On Liberty–Utilitarianism–was a terrible failure. The book inspired generations of classical liberal thinkers, and today it is probably the only historic work about toleration that most people ever read. It defends toleration-of thought, speech, and individuality-as a practical means to promote happiness for the greatest number of people. It is clear, concise, logical, and passionate. John Stuart Mill’s essay On Liberty (1859) is the most famous work about toleration in the English language.
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