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DAILY
CLASS NOTES
Political Science & International Relations

Lecture - 31
MILL'S VIEWS ON WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT
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MILL'S VIEWS ON WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

❖ J.s. Mill has talked about women's empowerment in his book "Subjection of Women".
According to Mill, Liberty and equality are important in modern times. No one
believes in slavery today. Yet women are sometimes treated worse than slaves. The
end of slavery did not result in freedom for women because men do not want to
relieve women of their subordinate position.
❖ The universality of the subjection of women does not make it right because universal
social practices are not the test of righteousness. Women are not inferior to men
because this inequality is not natural. It is a result of socialisation. Many examples in
history show the extraordinary leadership qualities of women. It is not correct to
allow the subordination of women on the ground that women will be subordinate
because subordination is forced upon them.
❖ Patriarchal Family is a cause of the subjection of women. Patriarchal Family is
against the principle of democracy because the patriarchal family is based on
Hierarchy. If women are brought into the public sphere they will have a better
influence on men because men will perform better if they face competition from their
female counterparts. Under subordination, women will assert their interests in a
perverted manner. The project of democracy will be incomplete without the
empowerment of women.

J.S. Mill as democrat

❖ J.S. Mill was influenced by Plato, Socrates, and Alexis de Tocqueville. Tocqueville, he
was an ardent supporter of democracy. His concept of democracy is linked to his
concept of liberty. Democracy is the best Form of government for the optimum
realisation of liberty.
❖ J.S. Mill is a supporter of direct democracy. However, because of the growth of the
population, direct democracy is not possible. So, he suggests representative
democracy as the second best option. He was passionate about the ideals of
democracy. For him, democracy is not a gift to be distributed of free will. Democracy
is a noble ideal that was achieved after long years of struggle. Hence, it is necessary
to remain cautious about the future of democracy.
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His ideas were based on the study of Tocqueville’s work "Democracy in America" where
Tocqueville mentioned the tyranny of the majority. Mill was cautious about the future of
democracy in England. According to him, the success of democracy requires some
prerequisites. That is why, Mill suggests that democracy is not suitable for colonies.
Because the people of the colonies are not aware of the values of democracy.

Pre-requisites for Democracy-

❖ The state and its institutions are shaped by the quality of people that reside and
work there.

❖ The following are the prerequisites, for democracy: -

➢ People should be ready to accept democracy as the form of government,

➢ People should be ready to do anything for the stability of such a government,

➢ People should be committed to those objectives which they feel and expect the
government to fulfil.

❖ Thus, from J.S. Mill’s understanding, it is inferred that for the success of democracy,
a specific type of political culture is needed. Here, we find the similarities between the
views of J.S. Mill and Sidney Verba who talks about the necessity of civic culture for
the success of democracy.

❖ J.S. Mill starts his work on representative democracy with the concern that liberty is
under the greatest threat because people feel assured about their liberty in a
democracy. People feel that their liberty is protected as they are under self-
government. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. So, he suggests that people
should be active in democracy. Here we find similarities between J.S. Mill and the
views of Robert Putnam. Robert Putnam had expressed concerns over the decline of
social capital in Western countries.
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Institutional reforms suggested by Mill

❖ System of proportional representation instead of a majoritarian system: The purpose
is to save the minority from the tyranny of the majority. This is in accordance with
his Freedom of speech and expression that everyone should be allowed to express their
views.

❖ Plural voting: According to him, those who are educated and have property
qualifications should have more than one vote. He wanted to save democracy from
the ill effects of universal adult suffrage. He also suggested equal political rights for
women.

❖ Open ballot: This was to avoid corruption. It is according to the ideals of freedom of
speech and expression.

❖ Bicameral legislature: He suggested this because the lower house represents views of
masses whereas the second house is like a revision chamber which consists of those
people who have a greater understanding of politics and more experience.

Mill's views on Political Economy

❖ Mill is a transitional thinker acting as a connecting link between negative and positive
liberalism as well as socialism. He favours absolute right to property but also accepts
the nationalisation of property if some greater good of society is possible. He was also
concerned with improvement in wages of workers without affecting the interest of
capitalists. He feels that competition is good for both capitalists as well as workers.

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