Season 9 - Episode 1 - John Stuart Mill

Season 9 - Episode 1 - John Stuart Mill

From Economics In Ten by Economics In Ten

February 2, 2026 · 1h 24m · Season 9 · Episode 1

About this episode

This episode discusses the life and evolving ideas of John Stuart Mill, exploring his impact on economic thought and individualism.

‘On Liberty’ by JS Mill is beloved by libertarians across the world - it championed the freedom of the individual in the face of growing state power. This individualism is at the heart of orthodox economic thought with Mill's ideas arguably acting as a guard rail against the malign actions of ‘the nanny state’ . However, as we will demonstrate, Mill was a complex thinker whose thinking evolved over time. Mill had an "interesting" childhood with an intellectual hot-housing that a modern day tennis dad would find extreme. Not long out of the nursery he would be constructing Latin poetry, writing commentaries on Greek philosophy and going on long walks in the country where he mused on the thoughts of our old friend David Ricardo. A perhaps inevitable breakdown in early adulthood led to a major change of heart and thought. Mill developed into a wide ranging thinker whose ideas at times can come across as almost socialist, jarring with the more common image of Mill as libertarian champion as beloved by free market think tanks. In this first episode of Season 9, your friendly neighbourhood economists Pete and Gav, discuss the life and times of this stern looking man. As always there is…

People in this episode

Hosts: Pete, Gav

Topics covered

  • libertarianism
  • individualism
  • economic thought
  • socialism
  • John Stuart Mill
  • state power

Keywords

  • John Stuart Mill
  • libertarianism
  • individualism
  • economic thought
  • socialism
  • state power
  • David Ricardo

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