ABSTRACT
ItisatributetoMill'ssenseofhistoricalfarsightedness thatinwritingO n L i b e r t y hethoughtofthefutureratherthan oftheimmediatepresent,which"didnotseemtostandmuch inneedofsuchalesson."1AlesshonestthinkerthanMillmight havejustifiedtheneedforanewessayonlibertybyexaggerating thethreatstoitsexistenceinhisowntime.Withthewisdomof hindsightwenowknowthat,inhistoricalperspective,nineteenth-centuryEnglandwasoneofthemostliberalsocietiesin history,particularlyasviewedinthelightofourownexperienceoftotalitarianisminthetwentiethcentury.Milldidnot foreseetheriseoftotalitarianism;heneverclaimedprophetic powersofanysort.Yetheisinterestedin"tendencies"rather thanin"presentfacts,"2andi t isremarkablehowaccurately heforesawthetendenciesthatweretothreatenpoliticaland economicliberty.Infact,itcanbeargued(aswillbepointed outingreaterdetail)thatMill,thoughnotforeseeingtheprecise
phenomenonoftwentieth-centurytotalitarianism,accuratelyanalyzedsomeoftheprincipalsocialandintellectualforcesthat preparedthegroundforitaswellasforthespreadofgreater conformityinthemorewell-establishedsocieties.
