On Liberty

This book is a philosophical work by British philosopher John Stuart Mill. It was intended as a short essay and was first published in 1859. Within these pages, Mill emphasizes the importance of individuality as a prerequisite to the higher pleasures, a concept considered radical by Victorian readers of the time as it supports the idea of an individual's moral and economic freedom from the state. Even today the work is considered the basis of much liberal political thought, and an original copy of it is handed over to each new leader of the Liberal Democrat party as a symbol of office.