 Mill believes liberty is needed for full development of human nature.  Having liberty and being able to make your free choice will flourish your capacity as a human.  Individuals need to free themselves from being slaves of customs.  This view will consequently deny the notion that individuals are social beings.  They have a meaning and a value in the society.  Their personalities shape up in society.

 What makes a society the society is customs and traditions, which create a bond between individuals and provide an environment to live in harmony.  Liberal notion argues that customs and traditions limit individuals’ potential.  Social values are not progressive, but conservative. Against change…  Different ideas and approaches will create an environment of progress that individuals will find their real personalities and potential.  Unleashed potentials will help the society to progress.  An individual who disregards social values and norms, lives a self-centric life, which will possibly be a harm for society.

 Once individuals are free and progressed they will be more valuable to themselves and to others.  Life is an experiment and individuals should be allowed to experience it.  Good or bad experiment will guide others too eventually, since they see a bad model or a role model.  Mill says some of us might be more adventurous than others.  This will obviously contribute to others’ lives too.  Good experience will increase possibility of others following the path that is already explored.  More possibility for happiness.

 Mill’s optimistic notion that everyone will learn from others’ mistake is wishful thinking.  We see how people make the same mistakes over and over.  How about uneducated and barbarians?  They may have no interest in learning from others’ experience at all.  Dwelling the need for progress on liberty may not be a good argument for Mill.  Liberty of individuals is limited by their economic status and freedom.

 An important concern for individuals to benefit from liberties is to be financially self-sufficient.  Poor people, workers, uneducated may not be able to practice their right to freedom as they desire.

Liberty as an Intrinsic Good  Mill thinks of liberty as a utilitarian.  He pursues happiness in liberty.  He thinks liberties will increase happiness for the society since progress depends mostly on individual liberties.  Utilitarian thought argues that happiness is the only intrinsic good.  Mill argues that if we like to reach happiness we need to have liberty.  It cannot be limited, but unlimited liberties will lead anarchy.

 In modern times, laws of many countries are not consistent with ‘Liberty Principle’.  Banning euthanasia, dueling, and incest between siblings, prostitution are examples of such laws.  Society has its moral values and it is understandable to make criminal laws in accordance with those social norms.  Laws usually stem from those social norms anyway.  If anyone breaks these laws, it is normal that they are considered as offenders.  Society has responsibility to protect its values according to Lord Justin Devlin, author of Moral and the Criminal Law article in 1957.

Marxist Objections to Liberalism  Marx sees liberalism as shallow and superficial.  Political emancipation is fundamental.  Liberation of the society is essential, not the individual.  Individuals will find their territory in the politically emancipated society.  Socialists perceive religion as a barrier before liberating the society.  Equality will take place only if religion is abolished.

 Individual himself cannot overcome the problem of inequality between the men.  He will be a plaything of alien powers.  Liberation is communal thing, not an individual one.  Individuals gain their identity and personality through social environment that they born, grew and live.  That is where an individual gets a place among the people.  Communitarian approach argues that liberals are wrong in isolating individuals from society and this way expecting them to benefit from liberty.

 The right approach is to bring individuals into a place where they can make right and rational choices in the society.  Separating individuals from their social environment, and considering them single beings is against the nature of human kind.  Communitarians argue that liberalism encourages selfishness.  They perceive individuals as selfish, self-centered.  On the other side, communitarians promote a strong and big government, which aims to provide equality and a society without classes.

 In this society, the idea is to create common good.  Everyone cares for one another.  However, liberals promote an individual type who is not social, does not care for others, but in pursuit of his own interest.  Sacrificing for others is an important aspect of being a member of a community.  Helping those who are in need is a moral obligation for humans.  Sense of community cannot be created by promoting liberalism; individual - centered life.

 Liberalism is a doctrine that does not tell individuals how to live, but it requires that they be free.  In liberal thought, government is small, as small as possible.  It is designed to deliver basic services, such as security and justice.  It does not interfere with individuals’ way of life.  It does not create policies about how individuals should act and live.  One important criticism that liberalists get is that they emphasize individual rights, but not responsibilities and duties.

 If someone has a right to something, then that individual should also have responsibility as well.  One important criticism to liberals is that liberals believe values are subjective or relative.  Since they do not have strong ties to the society they came from, they do not share society’s moral values.  Common norms are not applicable to the liberal idea.  Individuals will make choices that are in their best interest.  Liberalism thinks that state should be neutral.  It should distance itself from interfering in social matters, such as subsidizing arts and sciences or banning brothel-houses.

 State interference in economic activities, specially will have damaging impact on markets.  Market should correct itself in case that things go wrong.  Socialism and liberalism are completely opposite, particularly when it comes to the issue of regulating the markets.