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I became acquainted with John Stuart Mill, an English philosopher, by attending online justice lectures at Harvard University. In general, English philosophers have made significant contributions to the development of the political system that governs people, and the utility principle is an important principle in organizing human life. John Stuart Mill developed the concept of utility and added something very important to it: respect for individual rights.
A utilitarian act is not moral if it violates an individual's rights, even if it benefits the majority, and this is a fundamental principle in civilized societies. Minorities' rights must be guaranteed in any society where there is a group that constitutes the majority. This is the primary distinction between civilized societies that care about minorities' rights and primitive societies that do not.
John Stuart Mill was among the first to recognize the significance of this issue.
Mill was a vocal proponent of utilitarianism, a philosophical approach that assesses actions and decisions based on their ability to promote happiness and reduce suffering for the greatest number of people. He believed that the utility principle should be the guiding principle of moral decision-making, but he added an important qualification. He contended that actions that maximize happiness for the greatest number of people must also respect individuals' rights and freedoms.
Also he believed that individual liberty was necessary for human flourishing and that society should not interfere with individuals' choices unless those choices were harmful to others. "The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others," he famously wrote.
Mill was also a supporter of women's rights, arguing that women should have equal access to and freedoms as men. He wrote extensively on the subject in works such as The Subjection of Women, which is still regarded as a seminal feminist text.