第41章

Thissuggestsonevitalpoint。Mill，asIhavesaid，hasendeavouredtoenlargeasmuchaspossiblethesphereofoperationofthefreewill——ofthepowerofindividualsorofdeliberateconsciouslegislation。Theresultistoexaggeratetheinfluenceofinstitutionsandtoneglecttheforces，intellectualandmoral，whichmustalwaysliebehindinstitutions。Wecanadmittothefulltheimportanceoftheeducationalinfluenceofpoliticalinstitutions，andthesurpassingvalueofenergy，self-reliance，andindividualresponsibility。Thesentimentisaltogethernoble，andMillexpressesitwithadmirablevigour。

Butthemoredecidedlyweholdhisviewofthedisease，themoreutterlyinadequateandinappropriateappearshisremedy。Thetendencytolevellingandvulgarising，sofarasitexists，cancertainlynotbecuredbyingeniousarrangementsofonepartofthepoliticalmachinery。ItakethistomarkMill’sweakestside。

Thetruthwasdivinedbytheinstinctofhisdemocraticallies。

Solongashevotedforextendingthesuffrage，theycouldleavehimtosavehisconsciencebyamusinghimselfwiththeseharmlessfancies。

VI。WOMEN’SRIGHTS

Mill’sSubjectionofWomenbringsoutmoreclearlysomeofthefundamentalUtilitariantenets。Noneofhiswritingsismoreemphaticallymarkedbygenerosityandloveofjustice。Acertainshrillnessoftonemarksthereclusetoolittleabletoappreciatetheanimalnatureofmankind。Yetinanycase，hemadeamosteffectiveprotestagainsttheprejudiceswhichstuntedthedevelopmentandlimitedthecareersofwomen。Milldeclaresatstarting，thattillrecentlythe’lawofforce’hasbeen’theavowedruleofgeneralconduct。’Onlyoflatehastherebeenevenapretenceofregulating’theaffairsofsocietyingeneralaccordingtoanymorallaw。’(44*)Thatmoralconsiderationshavebeentoolittleregardedasbetweendifferentsocietiesordifferentclassesispainfullyobvious。But’force’inanyintelligiblesenseisitselfonlymadeapplicablebythesocialinstincts，whichbindmentogether。Nosocietycouldeverbeweldedintoawholeby’force’alone。ThisistheUtilitarianfallacyofexplaininglawby’sanctions，’andleavingthe’sanctions’toexplainthemselves。ButtheargumentencouragesMilltotreatofallinequalityasunjustbecauseimposedbyforce。The’onlyschoolofgenuinemoralsentiment，’hesays，’issocietybetweenequals。’Letusrathersaythatinequalitiesareunjustwhichrestuponforcealone。Everyschoolofmoralityorofthoughtimpliessubordination，butasubordinationdesirableonlywhenbaseduponrealsuperiority。Thequestionthenbecomeswhethertheexistingrelationsofthesexescorrespondtosomeessentialdifferenceorarecreatedbysheerforce。

HerewehaveassumptionscharacteristicofMill’swholelogicalmethod；and，especially，thecuriousoscillationbetweenabsolutelawsandindefinitemodifiability。Hisdoctrineof’naturalkinds’supposedthattworaceswereeitherdividedbyanimpassablegulf，orweredividedonlybyaccidentalorsuperficialdifferences。Heprotestsagainsttheexplanationofnationaldifferencesbyracecharacteristics。TosaythattheIrisharenaturallylazy，ortheNegroesnaturallystupid，istomakeashortapologyforoppressionandforslavery。Undoubtedlyitiswrong，asitiscontrarytoallempiricalreasoning，toassumeafundamentaldifference；andmorallywrongtofoundupontheassumptionanapologyformaintainingcasteandprivilege。

Butneitherisitlegitimatetoassumethatthedifferencesarenegligible。The’accidentofcolour’hasbeenmadeapretextforanabominableinstitution。Butwehavenorighttotheaprioriassumptionthatcolourisamereaccident。ItmayuponMill’sownmethodbeanindicationofradicalandfar-reachingdifferences。

HowfartheNegrodiffersfromthewhiteman，whetherheisintellectuallyequaloronawhollylowerplane，isaquestionoffacttobedecide