r/Classical_Liberals • u/alreqdytayken • Apr 01 '23
Is J S Mill a Socialist Question
I get that he is a classical liberal but later on In his life he went on a Socialist bent and started favoring worker Co ops and if I remember correctly the abolishment of wage work.
Did he become a Socialist later on In his life?
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Apr 01 '23
Yes! Though he was a liberal socialist. Far better than most socialists today as he promoted lazaire-faire socialism.
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u/ETpwnHome221 Gradualist Anarcho-Capitalist/Voluntarist Apr 01 '23
So like, someone who advocates for a societal standard of community and responsibility for each other, but who actually understands economics and individuality?
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u/alreqdytayken Apr 01 '23
liberal socialist.
First time I heard of it what's it about does it still advocate for the abolishment of capitalism
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Apr 01 '23
Basically it ask for the peaceful transition between capitalism to socialism by building up unions and worker Co-ops. It's a Utilitarian philosophy that slowly overtime workers control their workplaces. The end goal is basically a lazare-faire market socialism. Basically think about the thought experiment John Stuart Mill gave a child drowning in a pond and person standing right next to that pond. The idea is that the person not saving the child because his shoes could get wet or some trivial matter would make that person evil. This is basically the idea applied to society greater as a whole.
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u/alreqdytayken Apr 01 '23
Basically think about the thought experiment John Stuart Mill gave a child drowning in a pond and person standing right next to that pond. The idea is that the person not saving the child because his shoes could get wet or some trivial matter would make that person evil. This is basically the idea applied to society greater as a whole.
Can you explain this part more
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Apr 01 '23
It's the Utilitarian idea behind the harm principle of John Straut Mill that creates his conclusion.
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u/Snifflebeard Classical Liberal Apr 01 '23
A worker's co-operative is NOT socialist. It's just people who voluntarily associate with each other for economic purposes. A different style of economic organization, but not socialist.
Socialist would be mandatory co-ops, or state sponsored co-ops. But a purely voluntary co-op is as free market and classically liberal as they come.