“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Explain and discuss the implications of this view for Liberalism.
Liberalism focuses on the freedom of the individual. For all liberals, “freedom of the individual,” means that human beings are entitled to equal rights. For Bentham and Mill “freedom of the individual,” consisted of the freedom to follow the natural inclination of mankind to pursue its own selfish interests. Mill recognises that individuals are self-seeking hence the possibility that more dominant individuals in pursuit of their own selfish interests would encroach upon the individual liberty of others. This is the basis for Mills harm principle (elaborated in “on liberty,” 1859):
