The freedom of the press in James Mill's political thought
Abstract
This article examines the Scottish philosopher and historian James Mill’s views on the freedom of the press, predominantly as they are expounded in his unpublished commonplace books, and argues that not only were these ideas very radical, they were critical to Mill’s wider political thought and, by extension, to that of the early Philosophic Radicals. By virtue of the use of manuscript material, this article also presents evidence for various intellectual influences upon Mill, and argues that whilst Jeremy Bentham is of central importance to Mill’s ideas, he takes inspiration from a wide range of other authors, both modern and ancient, in part as a way of normalizing his views in the context of the reactionary and conservative political climate that he was writing about them in: early nineteenth-century Britain.
Citation
Grint , K 2017 , ' The freedom of the press in James Mill's political thought ' , The Historical Journal , vol. 60 , no. 2 , pp. 363-383 . https://doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X16000224
Publication
The Historical Journal
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0018-246XType
Journal article
Collections
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