ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the reasons for Jeremy Bentham's conversion-or return-to political radicalism together with the main features of the new doctrine he was shaping in these lengthy drafts of 1809–10. The extent of James Mill's influence over Bentham in 1809 is not directly deducible from the latter's manuscripts; but some new evidence can be produced to confirm Halevy's inference that Mill's entry into his life in 1808 was a crucial factor in turning Bentham into a radical. Bentham had rented a house at Oxted as a summer residence, and James Mill and his family joined him there for a two-month visit at the end of July. Bentham had long regarded it as axiomatic that individuals or groups, if entrusted with irresponsible power, could only be expected to use that power for the promotion of their own interests. In examining the early development of Philosophic Radicalism, it is difficult if not impossible to distinguish between the respective contributions of Bentham and Mill.
