ABSTRACT
John Stuart Mill's views on the progress of history have been very insufficiently analysed. The concept of improvement is a central unifying element in Mill's system of thought has long been recognised. This chapter elucidates the role of the government in the process of improvement. It considers that the government, its constitution and its policies, are the motor force of progress. That the government plays such a role is nowhere recognised in the analyses of Mill's thought. The chapter argues that Mill saw the process of improvement as a historical phenomenon, and that his views on improvement would be validated by history. The improvement of man is associated with a change of wants, towards what Mill calls the "higher pleasures". They are opposed to the lower pleasures which appeal to mere sensations or the "animal appetites". The social conditions for progress ultimately depend on the nature of the government: its constitution and its policies.
