Book Review - On Liberty by John Stuart Mill

 John Stuart Mill was a utilitarian from 19th Century England. He has written On Liberty, Utilitarianism, and The Subjection of Women.

He explained in the first chapter that individual liberty, while it does apply to women and men alike, it does not apply to children or “barbarian” races. He believes in benevolent imperialism of lesser races, but liberty for any adult who is “civilized”.

Please do keep in mind, what he argues is still relatively progressive for the year 1859.

Mill would be considered a libertarian today, based on this essay. He believes in very little government involvement, unless someone is harming someone else and/or society.

Utilitarianism is the theory that people should do what makes them happy, but especially if it creates a general goodness and happiness in society. Utilitarianism does not necessarily mean doing whatever you want regardless of the consequences. 

It is not doing things that feel good at the time, binge-eating, binge-drinking, unprotected and copious amounts of sex with strangers. These actions do not crate a general good. They are damaging to the health of yourself and others. Utility is pleasure in the absence of pain. Poor health causes pain. So going on a drinking bender all the time, while it gives you some pleasure at the time, makes a higher level of happiness impossible, and it harms yourself and others.

However, if you see someone damaging their physical, emotional, mental, or financial health, there is nothing you can do, argues Mill. However, if the person is an abusive drunk and harms you or anyone else, it becomes a legal case.

As for the essay, I thought it was well-written. The English was not too archaic. It was an interesting read. I don’t agree with everything in the essay, but generally it is aligned with my views on what liberty is.

Book Review - Lady Clementine

 I had to read Lady Clementine for book club. It was engaging in style and well-researched. We definitely need to give Lady Clementine Churchill more credit for what she has accomplished.

Lady Clementine was a very anxious woman. Despite this, she was politically engaged, sympathized with the suffragette movement, and influenced much of Winston Churchill’s decisions and speeches. She worked tirelessly during the second world war to improve the lives of the British as much as possible.

The portrayal of Winston Churchill, I feel, reduced him to a demanding child. I feel that some of his portrayal, like that of his racism, while negative, was fair. Many don’t realize this, but he discriminated against Indians.

The author, Marie Benedict, also had a habit of switching up the timeline with flashbacks. It got almost confusing at parts, thought that might be because I listened to it on Audible.

I feel that we as modern people, we put the suffragettes on a pedestal and overlook their radical tactics. I understand why it was done, since these women were violently arrested/tortured, so yeah they had no choice, but we are left with a rosy image of them. This novel is less biased than we tend to be.

The suffragettes of those times, as well, never fought for the working class women, black, brown, nor Asian women, nor women with disabilities.

Winston Churchill was moody, needy, and had irregular sleep patterns. Yet he was the definition of charisma. These traits all together raised my alarm bells. After a quick google search, my suspicions were confirmed. He shares a diagnosis with me:  Bipolar Disorder.

We see a few inner conflicts in the novel: Clementine’s prudishness and almost-infidelity, in spite of her scorn for anyone who cheats. We also see Winston standing up for the Ashkenazi Jewish community of Germany, yet he is known to be racist against the people of India. There is also the issue of Clementine being torn between longing for a relationship with her children, yet always prioritizing Winston’s career. As modern women, a work-family balance can be complicated. It may even seem impossible to some. I think for sure for a long time women have been either forced to decide or the decision has been made for us, one or the other.

Also, the ending led up to the Cold War quite well, if not abruptly. I found Clementine’s visit to the Russian children’s hospital, followed by the VE Day an abrupt transition. However, that may have been how it actually happened