James Mill (born James Milne;
6 April 1773 – 23 June 1836) was a Scottish
historian,
economist,
political theorist
A political theorist is someone who engages in constructing or evaluating political theory, including political philosophy. Theorists may be Academia, academics or independent scholars. Here the most notable political theorists are categorized b ...
, and
philosopher. He is counted among the founders of the
Ricardian school of economics.
He also wrote ''
The History of British India
''The History of British India'' is a three-volume work by the Scottish historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher James Mill, charting the history of Company rule in India. The work, first published in 1817, was an instant succe ...
(1817)'' and was one of the prominent historians to take colonial approach. He was the first writer to divide Indian history into three parts: Hindu, Muslim and British, a classification which has proved surpassingly influential in the field of Indian historical studies.
Mill was the father of
John Stuart Mill, a noted philosopher of
liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
and
utilitarianism, and a colonial administrator at the
East India Company.
Biography
James Milne, later known as James Mill, was born in Northwater Bridge, in the parish of Logie Pert,
Angus, Scotland, the son of James Milne, a
shoemaker and small farmer. His mother, Isabel Fenton, of a family that had suffered from connection with the
Stuart rising, resolved that he should receive a first-rate education, and after the parish school they sent him on to the
Montrose Academy, where he remained until the unusual age of seventeen and a half. He then entered the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
, where he distinguished himself as a Greek scholar.
In October 1789, he was ordained as a
minister of the Church of Scotland
A Church of Scotland congregation is led by its minister and elders. Both of these terms are also used in other Christian denominations: see Minister (Christianity) and Elder (Christianity). This article discusses the specific understanding of ...
, but met with little further success. According to John Stuart Mill's ''Autobiography,'' his father, though "educated in the creed of Scotch Presbyterianism, had, by his own studies and reflections, been early led to reject not only the belief in Revelation, but the foundations of what is commonly called Natural Religion." From 1790 to 1802, while supporting himself by various tutorships, he also pursued various historical and philosophical studies. With little prospect of a career in Scotland, in 1802, he went to London in company with
Sir John Stuart of
Fettercairn, then member of parliament for
Kincardineshire
Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the Stewartry"), is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north and ...
, and devoted himself to his literary work. From 1803 to 1806, he was editor of an ambitious periodical called the ''Literary Journal'', which tried to give a summary view of all the leading departments of human knowledge. During this time, he also edited the ''St James's Chronicle'', published by the same proprietor. In 1804, he wrote a pamphlet on the corn trade, arguing against a tariff (or 'bounty') on the export of grain. In 1805, he published a translation (with notes and quotations) of ''An Essay on the Spirit and Influence of the Reformation of Luther'' by
Charles de Villers on the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, and an attack on the alleged vices of the papal system. About the end of this year, he began work on ''
The History of British India
''The History of British India'' is a three-volume work by the Scottish historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher James Mill, charting the history of Company rule in India. The work, first published in 1817, was an instant succe ...
'', which was to occupy him for twelve years, rather than the three or four that he had expected.
In that year, too, he married Harriet Burrow, whose mother, a widow, kept what was then known as an establishment for lunatics in
Hoxton. They took a house in
Pentonville
Pentonville is an area on the northern fringe of Central London, in the London Borough of Islington. It is located north-northeast of Charing Cross on the Inner Ring Road. Pentonville developed in the northwestern edge of the ancient parish ...
where their eldest son
John Stuart Mill was born in 1806.
In 1808, he became acquainted with
Jeremy Bentham, who was twenty-five years his senior, and, for many years, his chief companion and ally. He adopted Bentham's principles in their entirety, and determined to devote all his energies to bringing them before the world. Between 1806 and 1818, he wrote for the ''
Anti-Jacobin Review'', the ''British Review'' and ''
The Eclectic Review''; but there is no means of tracing his contributions. In 1808, he began to write for the more prominent
Edinburgh Review, to which he contributed steadily till 1813, his first known article being "Money and Exchange". He also wrote on Spanish America, China,
Francisco de Miranda, the
East India Company, and freedom of the press. In the ''Annual Review'' for 1808, two articles of his are traced – a "Review of Fox's History", and an article on "Bentham's Law Reforms", probably his first published notice of Bentham. In 1811, he co-operated with
William Allen William Allen may refer to:
Politicians
United States
*William Allen (congressman) (1827–1881), United States Representative from Ohio
*William Allen (governor) (1803–1879), U.S. Representative, Senator, and 31st Governor of Ohio
*William ...
(1770–1843), a
Quaker and
chemist, in a periodical called the ''Philanthropist''. He contributed largely to every issue – his principal topics being Education, Freedom of the Press, and Prison Discipline (under which he expounded Bentham's
Panopticon). He made powerful onslaughts on the Church in connection with the
Bell and Lancaster controversy, and took a part in the discussions that led to the foundation of the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
in 1825. In 1814, he wrote a number of articles, containing an exposition of
utilitarianism, for the supplement to the fifth edition of the ''
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
'', the most important being those on "Jurisprudence", "Prisons", "Government" and "Law of Nations".
''
The History of British India
''The History of British India'' is a three-volume work by the Scottish historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher James Mill, charting the history of Company rule in India. The work, first published in 1817, was an instant succe ...
'' was published in 1818, and obtained a great immediate and enduring success. It brought about a matching change in the author's fortunes, and in the year following, he was appointed an official in India House in the important department of the Examiner of Indian Correspondence. He gradually rose through the ranks until, in 1830, he was appointed head of the office, with a salary of £1900, raised in 1836 to £2000. His great work on economics, the ''Elements of Political Economy'', appeared in 1821 (3rd and revised ed. 1825).
From 1824 to 1826, Mill contributed a number of articles to the ''
Westminster Review'', the organ of the Radical party, in which he attacked the ''
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
'' and the ''
Quarterly
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...
'' Reviews, and the ecclesiastical establishment. In 1829, appeared the ''Analysis of the Phenomena of the Human Mind''. From 1831 to 1833, Mill was largely occupied in the defence of the East India Company, during the controversy attending the renewal of its charter, he being in virtue of his office the spokesman of its Court of Directors. For the ''
London Review'', founded by
Sir William Molesworth in 1834, he wrote a notable article entitled "The Church and its Reform", which was much too sceptical for the time and injured the ''Westminster Review''. Mill himself was an
atheist. His last published book was the ''Fragment on Mackintosh'' (1835).
Intellectual legacy
''The History of British India''
Mill was a proponent of British imperialism, justifying it on
utilitarian
In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals.
Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charac ...
grounds.
He considered it part of a
civilizing mission
The civilizing mission ( es, misión civilizadora; pt, Missão civilizadora; french: Mission civilisatrice) is a political rationale for military intervention and for colonization purporting to facilitate the Westernization of indigenous pe ...
for Britain to impose its rule on India.
Mill saw his own work for the East India Company as important for the improvement of Indian society.
Mill portrayed Indian society as morally degraded and argued that Hindus had never possessed "a high state of civilisation."
Mill preferred to take a more theoretical approach to social subjects than the
empirical one common at the time. His best known literary work is his ''History of British India'', in which he describes the acquisition of the
Indian Empire
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
by England and later the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. In the work, he characterizes Indian society as barbaric and Indians as incapable of self-government.
He also brings political theory to bear on the delineation of the
Hindu civilization, and subjects the conduct of the actors in the successive stages of the conquest and administration of India to severe criticism. The work itself, and the author's official connection with India for the last seventeen years of his life, effected a complete change in the whole system of governance in the country. Mill never visited the Indian colony, relying solely on documentary material and archival records in compiling his work. This fact has led to severe criticism of Mill's ''History of India'' by notable economist
Amartya Sen.
According to
Thomas Trautmann, "James Mill's highly influential ''History of British India'' (1817) – most particularly the long essay 'Of the Hindus' comprising ten chapters – is the single most important source of British Indophobia and hostility to Orientalism". In the chapter titled General Reflections in "Of the Hindus", Mill wrote "under the glosing exterior of the Hindu, lies a general disposition to deceit and perfidy". According to Mill, "the same insincerity, mendacity, and perfidy; the same indifference to the feelings of others; the same prostitution and venality" were the conspicuous characteristics of both the Hindoos and the Muslims. The Muslims, however, were perfuse, when possessed of wealth, and devoted to pleasure; the Hindoos almost always penurious and ascetic; and "in truth, the Hindoo like the eunuch, excels in the qualities of a slave". Furthermore, similar to the Chinese, the Hindoos were "dissembling, treacherous, mendacious, to an excess which surpasses even the usual measure of uncultivated society". Both the Chinese and the Hindoos were "disposed to excessive exaggeration with regard to everything relating to themselves". Both were "cowardly and unfeeling". Both were "in the highest degree conceited of themselves, and full of affected contempt for others". And both were "in physical sense, disgustingly unclean in their persons and houses".
Max Müller argued against the opinion that Indians were an 'inferior race', not only because such a view was wrong but because it made an Englishman's life there a 'moral exile'. One source of such mistaken notions and 'poison' had been, and still was, Mill's ''History of British India'', which in his view was 'responsible for some of the greatest misfortunes' that had happened to India. Those who were going out to rule India 'should shake off national prejudices, which are apt to degenerate into a kind of madness'.
British politics
Mill also played a great part in British politics, and was a dominant figure in the establishment of what was called "
philosophic radicalism". His writings on government and his personal influence among the
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
politicians of his time determined the change of view from the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
theories of the rights of man and the absolute equality of men to the claiming of securities for good government through a wide extension of the franchise. It was under this banner that the
Reform Bill
In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is most commonly used for legislation passed in the 19th century and early 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...
was fought and won. His ''Elements of Political Economy'' followed up the views of his friend
David Ricardo. By 1911, the
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
described it as being of mainly historical interest, "an accurate summary of views that are now largely discarded". Among the more important of its theses are:
# that the chief problem of practical reformers is to limit the increase of population, on the assumption that capital does not naturally increase at the same rate as population (ii. § 2, art. 3)
# that the value of a thing depends entirely on the quantity of labour put into it; and
# that what is now known as the "
unearned increment" of land is a proper object for taxation.
Other areas
By his ''Analysis of the Phenomena of the Human Mind'' and his ''Fragment on Mackintosh'' Mill acquired a position in the history of psychology and ethics. He took up the problems of mind very much after the fashion of the
Scottish Enlightenment, as then represented by
Thomas Reid,
Dugald Stewart
Dugald Stewart (; 22 November 175311 June 1828) was a Scottish philosopher and mathematician. Today regarded as one of the most important figures of the later Scottish Enlightenment, he was renowned as a populariser of the work of Francis Hut ...
and
Thomas Brown, but made a new start, due in part to
David Hartley, and still more to his own independent thinking. He carried out the principle of association into the analysis of the complex emotional states, as the affections, the aesthetic emotions and the moral sentiment, all which he endeavoured to resolve into pleasurable and painful sensations. But the salient merit of the ''Analysis'' is the constant endeavour after precise definition of terms and clear statement of doctrines. He had a great effect on
Franz Brentano
Franz Clemens Honoratus Hermann Josef Brentano (; ; 16 January 1838 – 17 March 1917) was an influential German philosopher, psychologist, and former Catholic priest (withdrawn in 1873 due to the definition of papal infallibility in matters ...
who discussed his work in his own empirical psychology. The ''Fragment on Mackintosh'' severely criticizes the alleged flimsiness and misrepresentations of Sir
James Mackintosh's ''Dissertation on the Progress of Ethical Philosophy'' (1830), and discusses the foundations of ethics from the author's utilitarian point of view.
Major works
*
An essay of the impolicy of a bounty on the exportation of grain, 1804.
* "Lord Lauderdale on Public Wealth", 1804, ''Literary Journal'' Vol. IV, No. 1
''Commerce Defended'' 1808.
* "Thomas Smith on Money and Exchange", 1808, ''Edinburgh Review'' no. XXV, pp. 35–68
* ''
The History of British India
''The History of British India'' is a three-volume work by the Scottish historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher James Mill, charting the history of Company rule in India. The work, first published in 1817, was an instant succe ...
'', 3 vols., 1817 (and many later editions)
"Government" 1820, ''Encyclopædia Britannica''
''Elements of Political Economy'' 1821
* "Liberty of the Press", 1825, ''Encyclopædia Britannica''
''Essays on Government, Jurisprudence, Liberty of the Press, Education, and Prisons and Prison Discipline'' 1823.
* ''Analysis of the Phenomena of the Human Mind'', 2 vols., 1829. Revised edn, 2 vols, 1869.
* ''Essay on the Ballot and Fragment on Mackintosh
'', 1830.
* "Whether Political Economy is Useful", 1836, ''London Review'', vol. II, pp. 553–572.
1837.
See also
*
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...
*
Free trade
*
James Tod
*
List of liberal theorists
Notes
References
* Endnotes:
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Further reading
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External links
*
*
James Mill*
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entryJames Mill's common place books* E-text o
''Analysis of the Phenomena of the Human Mind'' as edited by J.S. Mill, with commentaries by himself and others.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mill, James
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