Mill’s introduction defines his key terms and concepts and presents his central argument. He opens by discussing the perpetual conflict between society and the individuals within it. He calls this dynamic “the struggle between Liberty and Authority” (1). Mill notes that liberty used to indicate the protection that an individual would have from a tyrannical ruler who was not elected and could act with a degree of impunity over subjects. Over time, Mill argues, with the rise of representative governments and the fall of despotic regimes—at least across the West—the tyranny that a person must fear no longer emanates just from politicians. He references “the tyranny of the majority,” which indicates the ability for a majority that defines a society to “execute its own mandates” that might be unjust, wrong, and, as the term states, tyrannical (4).

Mill’s central question becomes where to establish a limit of law or “interference of collective opinion” over “individual independence” (4). He champions the individual, always using the he/him/his pronoun and the term “man” to reference a single person in society. He insists that “man is a progressive being” that should pursue utility—which refers to the wellbeing of everyone (9).