The John Stuart Mill Institute is a non-governmental, Heidelberg-based research institute founded in 2009 and named after John Stuart Mill, an influential 19th-century English philosopher and politician. His main work "On Liberty", published in 1859, forms the basis for the institutes aim and mission:
"The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it."
Accordingly, the institute performs research into and promotes the concept of individual freedom and liberalism as an independent think tank and general advisor to all levels of society. As such, it is unique and the only one of its kind in Germany. [1]
The institute is integrated into one of the biggest and oldest private universities of applied sciences in Germany, the SRH in Heidelberg. [2] The head of the John Stuart Mill Institute is Prof. Ulrike Ackermann. All members of the scientific advisory board are renowned individuals, such as: Detmar Doering (philosopher and historian, currently head of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation); Karen Horn (economist, head of the Institute of German Economy, Berlin); Robert Nef (head of the Institute of Liberalism, Zürich); Prof. Gerhard Schulze (sociologist, University of Bamberg); Prof. Edgar Wolfrum (historian, University of Heidelberg); Prof. Michael Zöller (political scientist, University of Bayreuth/ member of the Council on public policies).
The John Stuart Mill Institute is an independent research and teaching organization that engages and advises to all levels of modern society. It is non-partisan and its views are not aligned with any political party. As such, the institute does not perform contract research nor does it accept government funding. Initially founded by generous support from the SRH Heidelberg, its future revenues will largely dependent on private contributions.
Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, economic freedom, political freedom and freedom of speech. Classical liberalism, contrary to liberal branches like social liberalism, looks more negatively on social policies, taxation and the state involvement in the lives of individuals, and it advocates deregulation.
Friedrich August von Hayek, often referred to by his initials F. A. Hayek, was an Austrian-British academic, who contributed to economics, political philosophy, psychology, and intellectual history. Hayek shared the 1974 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Gunnar Myrdal for work on money and economic fluctuations, and the interdependence of economic, social and institutional phenomena. His account of how prices communicate information is widely regarded as an important contribution to economics that led to him receiving the prize.
John Stuart Mill was an English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism, he contributed widely to social theory, political theory, and political economy. Dubbed "the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century" by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, he conceived of liberty as justifying the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state and social control.
Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, justice, liberty, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of laws by authority: what they are, if they are needed, what makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect, what form it should take, what the law is, and what duties citizens owe to a legitimate government, if any, and when it may be legitimately overthrown, if ever.
The Mont Pelerin Society (MPS), founded in 1947, is an international organization of economists, philosophers, historians, intellectuals and business leaders. It has been described as neoliberal in its ideological orientation, though some scholars claim that it is classically liberal. It is headquartered at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. The society advocates freedom of expression, free market economic policies and the political values of an open society. Further, the society seeks to discover ways in which the private sector can replace many functions currently provided by government entities.
The harm principle holds that the actions of individuals should be limited only to prevent harm to other individuals. John Stuart Mill articulated the principle in the 1859 essay On Liberty, where he argued that "The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others." An equivalent was earlier stated in France's Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 as, "Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law." It finds earlier expression in Thomas Jefferson's 1785 "Notes on the State of Virginia," Query 17 (Religion) in which he writes, "The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others."
On Liberty is an essay published in 1859 by the English philosopher John Stuart Mill. It applied Mill's ethical system of utilitarianism to society and state. Mill suggested standards for the relationship between authority and liberty. He emphasized the importance of individuality, which he considered a prerequisite to the higher pleasures—the summum bonum of utilitarianism. Furthermore, Mill asserted that democratic ideals may result in the tyranny of the majority. Among the standards proposed are Mill's three basic liberties of individuals, his three legitimate objections to government intervention, and his two maxims regarding the relationship of the individual to society.
Friedrich Naumann was a German liberal politician and Protestant parish pastor. In 1896, he founded the National-Social Association that sought to combine liberalism, nationalism and (non-Marxist) socialism with Protestant Christian values, proposing social reform to prevent class struggle. He led the party until its merger into the Free-minded Union in 1903. From 1907 to 1912 and again from 1913 to 1918, he was a member of the Reichstag of the German Empire.
Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can have different meanings depending on context. In the Constitutional law of the United States, Ordered liberty means creating a balanced society where individuals have the freedom to act without unnecessary interference and access to opportunities and resources to pursue their goals, all within a fair legal system. In Christian theology, liberty is freedom from the effects of "sin, spiritual servitude, [or] worldly ties".
The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF), is a German foundation for liberal politics, related to the Free Democratic Party. Established in 1958 by Theodor Heuss, the first president of the Federal Republic of Germany, it promotes individual freedom and classical liberalism. Usually still referred to as the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, the foundation supplemented its name in 2007 with the words "for Freedom".
This is the chronological list of books by the Austrian school economist and philosopher Friedrich Hayek. The dates in brackets are the original year of publication of the book.
Instituto Liberdade do Rio Grande do Sul is a Brazilian independent think tank, formed by intellectual entrepreneurs, based in Porto Alegre. Instituto Liberdade is not endowed and does not accept government funding. All of its programs depend upon the generosity of foundations, individuals, and corporations that share belief in the importance of independent research.
Articles in social and political philosophy include:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to libertarianism:
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, right to private property and equality before the law. Liberals espouse various and often mutually warring views depending on their understanding of these principles but generally support private property, market economies, individual rights, liberal democracy, secularism, rule of law, economic and political freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion, constitutional government and privacy rights. Liberalism is frequently cited as the dominant ideology of modern history.
The Egyptian Union of Liberal Youth or EULY, is an Egyptian non-governmental organization which spreads knowledge on the ideas of liberalism among Egyptian youth. The organization was founded in 2007 and has adopted several projects and workshops.
James Nicholas Tooley is a professor of educational entrepreneurship and of education policy at the University of Buckingham. In July 2020 Tooley was appointed as the new Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham, succeeding Sir Anthony Seldon from 1 October 2020.
Liberal socialism is a political philosophy that incorporates liberal principles to socialism. This synthesis sees liberalism as the political theory that takes the inner freedom of the human spirit as a given and adopts liberty as the goal, means and rule of shared human life. Socialism is seen as the method to realize this recognition of liberty through political and economic autonomy and emancipation from the grip of pressing material necessity. Liberal socialism opposes abolishing certain components of capitalism and supports something approximating a mixed economy that includes both social ownership and private property in capital goods.
Ewald Grothe is a German historian. Since 2009 he has been an extraordinary professor at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal and since 2011 he has been head of the Archive of Liberalism of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom in Gummersbach.