Mill’s theory of the relationship between
individual liberty and the state can be generally
summarized in a few propositions,
albeit with considerable oversimplification.
First, individual liberty and state action tend
to be opposed; increasing the latter reduces
the former. Mill does identify categories of
situations in which state action can in fact
enhance individual liberty – law enforcement
and public goods, for example – but
the conflict is in his view endemic. This
tendency reflects several factors: the
myopia, corruptibility, and other defects of
state officials exercising coercive powers,
the better outcomes when individuals pursue
their own ends, and the natural sociability
of private actors in a liberal culture.
Spontaneity and free choice, in the Millian
view, are the instruments of individual
liberty; as spurs to action, they are more
socially desirable than legal compulsion or
other forms of coercion.