• 1806, Born in London
• His rigorous education by his father began at birth
• 1809, He had learned Greek by age of 3
• 1814, By 8 he had read Plato, Xenophon, Diogenes in Greek
• 1820, By age 14, he had mastered Latin, classical literature, logic, political economy, history, and mathematics.
• 1820, At age 14, his Father began to take him on walks where he lectured on philosophers and their theories on economics (such as Ricardo)
• 1823, Mill joined his father in the East India Company as a clerk at an age of 17 to support himself. Later, became a director of the company like his father.
• Spring 1822, Jeremy Bentham’s Treatise on Legislation introduced "principle of utility" to Mill. His god and home became utility.
• 1823, Mill founded the Utilitarian Society
• 1829, At age of 20, Mill had mid-life crisis where he found that even if all his beliefs were put into practice on utility, the end result would not bring great joy and happiness to him. "The end has ceased to charm, and how could there ever again be any interest in the means? I seemed to have nothing left to live for."
• Depression lasted 6 months; he thought of committing suicide
• After 6 months of depression, Mill discovered the passion in romanticism
• 1835 to 1840, served as editor of the Westminster Review and wrote many articles on economics.
• 1836, Mill’s father died in
• 1838, Mill writes essay "Bentham," which accuses Benthamism for impoverishing the spirit
• 1830, Mill fell in love with Harriet Taylor, who was married and had kids at that time; first time he experienced any human emotions
• 1830 to 1851, Mill had an affair with Harriet Taylor
• 1851, Mill and Taylor were married after 2 years of engagement after death of her husband
• Mill altered and improved Benthamism and created "enlightened utilitarianism"
• 1856, Retired from the East India Company after 33 years of service
• 1843, Mill published his greatest philosophical work, System of Logic, which ranked with Aristotle’s works in that field.
• 1848, Mill published his chief work on economics: Principles of Political Economy. He applied economic principles to social conditions
• 1865, Mill was elected to Parliament
• 1873, Mill died

In the spring of 1822, Mill read Jeremy Bentham’s Treatise on Legislation, which introduced the "principle of utility" to him for the first time. He was fascinated by the principle of utility, based on Bentham’s laws of pleasure, pain, and arithmetic. Bentham based his gospel on the idea that nature has placed mankind under the governance of two masters: pain and pleasure. He invented Felific Calculus, a method of quantifying the amount of pleasure and pain where any single experience is measured by the factors of: intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity, fecundity, impurity, and the effect on others. Mill joined sides with Bentham and other Philosophical Radicals because the theories satisfied his cravings for scientific precision and gave him a new way of looking at social intercourse. During this time period, Mill battled for democracy and free speech because they yielded truth. The utilitarians’ view on Laissez-faire was favorable, but they were ready to abandon it whenever the benefits overweighed the costs. His god and home became utility.

However, Mill took Benthamite precision too far and eventually forgot the ultimate goal: happiness. In 1829, at an age of 20, Mill had mid-life crisis where he found that even if all his beliefs on utility were put into practice, the end result would not bring great joy and happiness to him. "The end has ceased to charm, and how could there ever again be any interest in the means? I seemed to have nothing left to live for." This revelation caused Mill to fall into a deep depression that lasted 6 months, during which he was plagued with thoughts of committing suicide.

Nevertheless, Mill was saved from drowning in the 18^th century rationalism by the romanticism of Wordsworth’s poems. The works or art inspired feelings of joy and the discovery of imagination in Mill. By embracing the beauty, Mill was able to cross the narrow borders of his mind that had been shaped by the imperial reign of his father during his childhood years. In 1838, Mill wrote an essay, titled "Bentham," which accused Benthamism for impoverishing the spirit. The ultimate step in Mill’s reeducation was his falling in love with Harriet Taylor in 1830. The affair lasted from 1830 to 1851. Finally, in 1851, Mill and Taylor were married after 2 years engagement after death of her husband. She was a loving wife and influenced him a lot.

Mill altered and improved Benthamism. The rest of his writings reflect an enlightened utilitarianism that he created. Mill thought that the greatest happiness depends upon more than mere pleasure. Great works or deeds bring joy by lifting the spirit. For example, Bentham believed that if playing poker brought as much pleasure as reading poetry, then they are equals. Mill disagreed and said, "He would rather be a discontented Socrates than a well fed pig." Mill enhanced utilitarianism by invoking Platonic virtues of honor, dignity, and self-development.

He became an ardent advocate for public education.

Mill’s earlier book On Logic, described the difference between positive works and normative works. Positive economics describe and predicts what actually takes place in the world. Normative economics advocates what should take place based on one’s moral philosophy.

Mill became a reformer and thus, had a normative role. Principles of Political Economy, Mill’s book on economics, was a series of 5 books. The first 3 were descriptive and positive, while the last 2 show Mill in his normative role. The last books were devoted to Mill’s theory on enhancing human condition through greater wealth equality, women’s rights, and education.

"The majesty of Mill is that he tied his normative goals to realistic analyses."

In 1848, Mill published his chief work on economics: Principles of Political Economy. Mills thought of social science with the same precision as performing geometric proofs. He deduced specific conclusions and policies from general premises generally centered on "laws" of human nature, like self-interest. This was partially because, from his father, Mill had learned economics as rationalism. In his book, he wrote about the separation of deduction and induction (whole and partial), management of the firm, supply and demand as an equation rather than a ratio, Say’s Law, and demand as a major factor in Ricardo’s law of comparative advantage. Rather than building a new foundation, Mill replaced many weak stones at different levels in the theory of utilitarianism.

Mill called for a proportional income tax (takes same % of income from earners regardless of income level) instead of progressive income tax (% of income tax higher with greater income level). He chose to advocate proportional income tax over progressive income tax due to the fact that he feared that progressive tax discourage work. Mill also believed in exempting the poor from paying taxes. His theories in income tax were supported when the US Congress adopted Mill’s advice through passing of 1986 Tax Reform Act. Congress chose to implement Mill’s theory because progressive income could potentially cause a disincentive to work, encourage people to evade taxes as income rises legally through tax shelters or creative accountancy or illegally.

Nevertheless, Mill urged "equal opportunity" rather than "equality of results." Thus, he advocated a high inheritance tax. This was because Mill believed that if some kids inherited large sums from their parents, they would posses an unfair advantage over others. He believed that high inheritance tax does not discourage work because the fortunes inherited by the children were not earned. Mill also proposed taxing riotous parties and luxuries flaunted for status.

Mill also believed that society should give relief to the poor. But relief to the poor often meant an incentive for them not to work and get jobs. The dilemma was then how should society give relief to the poor and the needy without dissuading them from getting jobs. Mills believed that by allowing recipients to exchange labor for welfare payments, this problem could be solved. His theory is once again reflected in the actions of the US Congress as they adopted the Welfare Program in 1988. Even though he supported a typed of welfare system Mill also feared that if welfare was too easily doled out, generations of poor people would be born into families weaned of a work ethic. He also thought that higher welfare payments would only promote higher birthrates. Thus, Mill rejected socialist and romantic proposals for raising benefits or wages.

Mill also recalled the power of education on his childhood years. Thus, Mill advocated public education for all people, even paupers. He also thought that capitalist societies had a duty to teach citizens how to succeed in a commercial community. Mill wanted to combine moral education with economic incentives.

Mill took a middle position on this issue. Though he rejected the full laissez-faire position, he embraced the idea that the burden is on the proponent of government to show that greater happiness requires intervention. "Every departure from laissez-faire, unless required by some great good, is a certain evil." He agreed that the state should tax, coin money, defend against enemies, establish court, and perform other duties to protect its citizens. But "optional" functions, such as consumer protection, education, business regulation, should be approached on a case-by-case method. Mill’s approach was very modern. He would have approved, and anticipated, many of today’s governmental institutions.

Mill painted an impressionistic vision of the future. He portrayed a nearly theological model of heaven on earth. He thought that in the future, the scramble for money would stop and the human race would exalt itself instead of wealth. Based on his theories of enlightened utilitarianism, Mill yearned for a time when humans would care more about dignity, integrity, and justice than overtime and overdrafts. Mill thought that humans would eventually surpass the "realm of necessity" and arrive at a time when they could choose not to struggle for subsistence, but strive to enhance their humanity.

Overall, Mill felt for utopians, but never took part in any actions or movements. He never abandoned his faith in competition and fear of centralized power (monopoly). John Stuart Mill fought for today and hoped for some idyllic day after tomorrow. He was a consistent voice for human rights, championed women’s suffrage, voting rights for the poor, and the North in the American Civil War.