John Stuart Mill & Harriet Taylor Mill – Part Two – Love, bravery and feminism

Jun 4, 2024

Delve into the tumultuous love story of John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor, the powerhouse duo behind modern liberalism. Discover how their intellectual partnership challenged societal norms, with Harriet's contributions often overshadowed. Topics include Mill's brave stance on women's suffrage, radical ideas on property and freedom, and the complexities of their unique three-way marriage. The conversation reveals how love intertwined with ideas to shape a legacy that remains relevant today, highlighting the importance of consent and individual autonomy.

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INSIGHT

Mill's Radicalism

John Stuart Mill, often labeled a liberal, held radical views, even contemplating violent revolution.
He expressed interest in socialism and critiqued capitalism's social impact.

INSIGHT

Pre-Marxist Socialism

Mill's socialism predates Marx, focusing on worker cooperatives and critiquing the landed class.
He and Harriet Taylor explored alternatives to both communism and laissez-faire capitalism.

ANECDOTE

Radical Proposals

Mill suggested limiting land ownership to a house and small garden, opposing vast private estates.
He also critiqued private art collections, advocating public display.

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Back for season five, Origin Story continues to explore the misunderstood ideas and people that shape our politics today. With Ian Dunt and Dorian Lynskey.

In this two-parter Ian gets seriously into the research by mining his own book for episode ideas and comes up smiling with this tale of love, bravery and feminism. John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor are the mother and father of liberalism, a joint writing team who produced the most seminal books about freedom in the modern era. But while he was worshipped by those who came afterwards, she was mocked, lambasted and then erased from history.

In part two, Ian and Dorian talk about the single most important liberal book ever written, track the ups and downs of the couple's tumultuous affair, and show how Mill became a woke warrior in his old age, fighting against racism and sexism and destroying his carefully-built Victorian reputation in the process.

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Reading list

Ian Dunt – How to be a Liberal (2020) (Has anyone heard of this book? Is it any good?)
Jo Ellen Jacobs (ed) – The Complete Works of Harriet taylor Mill (1998)
John Stuart Mill (and Harriet Taylor Mill) – On Liberty (1859)
John Stuart Mill (and Harriet Taylor Mill) – The Subjection of Women (1869)
John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham – Utilitarianism and Other Essays (1987)
Richard Reeves – John Stuart Mill: Victorian Firebrand (2007)

Written and presented by Ian Dunt and Dorian Lynskey. Music by Jade Bailey. Art by Jim Parrett. Logo by Mischa Welsh. Audio production by Simon Williams. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Origin Story is a Podmasters production

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