How long does it take to read On Liberty?
On Liberty by John Stuart Mill takes about 3 hours 14 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 3 hours 14 minutes
A weekend read
First published 1859. 176 pages, about 48,400 words.
7 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 5 hours 23 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 3 hours 14 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 2 hours 1 minute |
The page count is the median across 465 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
On Liberty, an essay published in 1859 under John Stuart Mill's name, though co-written with Harriet Taylor Mill, applies utilitarian ethics to the relationship between society and the state. It asks where authority over the individual should end. The authors warn that even democracies can slide into a tyranny of the majority, and they defend free thought and discussion, individuality, and personal freedom of action. Their central principle holds that power over a person may be used against his will only to prevent harm to others, since each individual is sovereign over his own body and mind.
This summary was written by AI and checked by a second AI model. How these are chosen.
Subjects: Liberté, Morale, Politique, Liberty, Women's rights, Women
