James and John Stuart Mill on education

This chapter examines how far John Stuart Mill carried forward the legacy of his father, James Mill, and of the philosophers of the European enlightenment, in their understanding of the role of education in its broadest sense in the creation of a more progressive and equal society. It concludes that, despite some indications to the contrary, J.S. Mill did not do so. In the circumstances of nineteenth-century Britain, and the emergence of a politically organised and assertive working class, J.S. Mill initially acknowledged the progressive potential of working-class self-organisation but gradually backed away from that position. Later he retreated to a cautious but clear prioritisation of what he described as diversity and experimentation and did so against what he saw as the dangers of a degrading mass uniformity.