Essay on Government

E84635

Essay on Government is a political treatise by James Mill that outlines a utilitarian theory of representative democracy and the proper functions of government.

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Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf book
political treatise
addresses checks and balances
limits of governmental power
representation
suffrage
advocates maximization of general happiness
popular control over rulers
aimsTo justify representative democracy on utilitarian grounds
provide a systematic theory of representative government
associatedWith British utilitarianism
classical liberalism
author James Mill
bibliographicCategory utilitarian political work
work of political philosophy
circulation influential in 19th-century British political debates
countryOfOrigin United Kingdom
critiques oligarchic control of government
unrestricted monarchical power
describes proper functions of government
field moral philosophy
political science
genre political philosophy
political theory
hasPerspective rationalist approach to politics
historicalContext early 19th-century British liberalism
influenced John Stuart Mill
utilitarian political thought
influencedBy Jeremy Bentham
intendedAudience educated public
political reformers
language English
mainSubject government
political theory
representative democracy
utilitarianism
philosophicalSchool utilitarianism
philosophicalTheme justification of political authority
prevention of governmental abuse
relationship between rulers and the ruled
proposes representative democracy
publicationCentury 19th century
relatedWorkOfAuthor James Mill’s Essays on Government, Jurisprudence, Liberty of the Press, and Law of Nations
supports extension of political representation
institutional safeguards against tyranny
theoreticalFramework utilitarian theory of government
viewsGovernmentAs instrument for promoting the greatest happiness

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James Mill notableWork Essay on Government