On Liberty

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) was born in London into a family of modest origins. His father, a philosopher and economist, gave him a rigorous education with the aim of creating an intellectual genius who would continue his work. At the age of fourteen, he made a trip to the South of France, and his interest in foreign policy was born there.
In 1823, Mill was appointed junior assistant in the Correspondence Department of the British East India Company. A year earlier, he had written his first essays in Traveller magazine. From then on, his literary production grew without interregnum. Mill possessed a truly remarkable capacity for work, except when illness and depression prevented him.
He is mainly known for his works in the fields of philosophy, ethics, political economy, and logic, which have influenced numerous thinkers and areas of knowledge. He defended utilitarianism and is one of the most prominent and recognized defenders of political liberalism, and his works are still sources of discussion and inspiration on individual freedoms.