Rousseau and Mill on Liberty and the Relationship Between the Individual and Society.

Society is the major component that combines people of different cultural practices and understandings. Rousseau has a critical understanding of liberty in society. According to Rousseau, liberty entails the freedom to pursue one’s desires. Besides, Rousseau outlines that civil liberty mainly entails the freedom to pursue the general will of society. However, Mill outlines that liberty is about the opportunity that people should be free to do whatever they want without any intervention from the state. However, Mill understands that if such actions are aimed at harming somebody, essential actions need to be taken to protect the public.

Mill is more concerned with the happiness of individuals in a society. According to him, happiness can only be obtained if people are allowed to do what they feel like within society. The similarities between Rousseau and Mill lie in providing happiness among the people. The two individuals advocate for freedom of expression within society to enhance people’s happiness. Based on their key themes, happiness can only be obtained whenever freedom is embraced in society.

On the other hand, there is a difference between Rousseau and Mill in how they understand the concept of liberty. For instance, Mill believes that liberty is all about an individual’s freedom without necessarily giving greater concern to the benefits of other people. However, Rousseau demonstrates that the welfare of society is the main objective of liberty. In this excerpt, Rousseau outlines that it is not about the happiness and freedom of an individual but the freedom of society.

Both Rousseau and Mill illustrate the difference between social and individual benefits in society. Therefore, one can understand that society is defined based on the individuals within. In a scenario where people who encourage equity live together within a particular part of the country, that society is likely to enhance good relations and provide a structure for development. However, when individuals within the region facilitate divisive practices, the following cases of oppression, subjugation, and voluntary servitude are likely to be experienced: Besides, society’s stability depends on the characters within the region.

However, the implementation of laws and regulations has helped a lot in ensuring that cases of oppression and negative subjugation are minimized within the community. Therefore, there is a close relationship between an individual and society in character development.