Communication ethics and the rejection of paternalism in John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty

摘要

Western rejections ofpaternalism as a practice of communication are informed by the analysis of John Stuart Mill in his classic work On Liberty. Mill asserted that the individual is best equipped to make moral judgments, over and above other systems of morality or traditions.The capacity to judge without paternalistic interference from the State is negative liberty. Mill advocated for a process grounded in robust commu-nicative engagement as a method of self-cultivation. This requires active learning.Mill's analysis informs contemporary communication ethics with an emphasis on liberty as a virtue above faith in individuality, marking an influential contribution to the modern understanding of identity construction grounded in an originative "I" that must be protected. Libertarian and neoliberal accounts of ethics stand in Mill's shadow, extending his individualistic account ofjudgment.