Harriet Taylor and the Development of John Stuart Mill’s Socialism

Abstract

John Stuart Mill’s assertion that his politics were best described as “under the general designation of Socialist” is often ignored, and—where acknowledged—blamed on his wife, Harriet Taylor. In this article, I explore this particular “Harriet Taylor Myth,” considering in detail Mill’s account of their co-authoring of Principles of Political Economy; Taylor’s own socialism; and the development of their views in the context of events in France in 1848. I conclude that there may be some evidence that Taylor thought France ready for communist experiments in 1849, whereas Mill disagreed, and that she thought the utility gained by securing subsistence would be more significant than he did. In itself, however, this is not enough to claim she was radically “more” socialist than Mill, or that the positions that were included in Principles are not authentically “his” as well as “theirs.” Instead of seeking to avoid Mill’s socialism by ascribing it solely to the (malign) influence of his wife, we ought to take more seriously both their co-authoring relationship and their commitment to a decentralized, peaceful, and voluntaristic—but nonetheless radical—socialism.