The Wisdom of On Liberty
“If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, and only one person were of contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.”
–John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
The philosopher, whose work is nearly synonymous with utilitarianism, realized the virtue of a dissenting opinion in this most insightful observation. The next time you find yourself disagreeing with the majority of your peers, try to keep Mill’s notions from On Liberty in your mind. I suspect that by doing so, you’ll feel a lot more comfortable in your dissent.
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Jim Woods is a 30-plus-year veteran of the markets with varied experience as a broker, hedge fund trader, financial writer, author and newsletter editor.
His books include co-authoring, “Billion Dollar Green: Profit from the Eco Revolution,” and “The Wealth Shield: How to Invest and Protect Your Money from Another Stock Market Crash, Financial Crisis or Global Economic Collapse.” He’s also ghostwritten many books and articles, as well as edited content for some of the investment industry’s biggest luminaries. Read more about Jim Woods.
