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Connection to Utilitarianism

It is important to note, however, that Mill makes it clear throughout On Liberty that he "regard[s] utility as the ultimate appeal on all ethical questions." This he inherited from his Utilitarian upbringing under his father James Mill, a follower of Jeremy Bentham. Because of this, the specific justifications he gives for each of the freedoms listed above rests not on any form of natural rights but rather on the fact that he believed these freedoms would bring positive consequences for society. Thus, both advocates and critics of Mill's views have argued that he does not take liberty as an absolute standard of value, prizing above it diversity, equality and social progress.

Mill does make an appeal to human nature, which he sees as requiring freedom of action: "To give any fair play to the nature of each, it is essential that different persons should be allowed to lead different lives." Mill's main argument indeed comes from utility, but he appeals to human nature in arguing about the utilitarian consequences of giving or denying freedom.

An early critic of Mill's position in this essay was the lawyer James Fitzjames Stephen who attacked it in his Liberty, Equality, Fraternity (1873–1874).