Considerations on Representative Government
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1861
- Form
- Political theory
- Language
- English
- Length
- Medium · 220 pp120 to 300 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendOn Liberty and Other EssaysOxford World's Classics, 1991John Gray's volume collects Representative Government with On Liberty, Utilitarianism and The Subjection of Women.
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Mill asks what form of government is best and answers that it is representative government, because it both protects people's interests and improves their character by giving them something to do. He then works through the machinery: the proper business of an elected assembly, which is to watch and criticise rather than to administer; the case for extending the suffrage, including to women; his arguments for plural voting weighted by education and against the secret ballot; Hare's scheme of proportional representation; the relation of a second chamber and a permanent civil service to the elected house; federalism; and the government of dependencies.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Considerations on Representative Government are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
