Individual Liberty, Self-Reliance, and Private Property in Emerson and Mill
ABSTRACT
Classical liberalism stipulates an integral relationship between individual freedom and private property. Two of the nineteenth century’s most famous advocates of individualism, Ralph Waldo Emerson and John Stuart Mill, must have considered this same relationship. Whose defense of property is more convincing, and how much does this success depend upon their understanding of individuality? Whose defense is more principled? And perhaps most importantly, which thinker better advances the cause of liberty?
READING LIST
Conference Readings
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Essays and Lectures. Edited by Joel Porte. East Rutherford: Penguin Group Inc., 1983.
Mill, John Stuart. Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Books III - V, Principles of Political Economy. Edited by J.M. Robson. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund Inc., 2006.
Mill, John Stuart. The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume II: Principles of Political Economy (Books I-II). Edited by J.M. Robson. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund Inc., 2006.
Mill, John Stuart. Mill: The Spirit of the Age, on Liberty, the Subjection of Women. Edited by Alan Ryan. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1997.