[general_re]

John Stuart Mill was the son of James Mill, a well-known Utilitarian. John S. rebelled against his father and went to the other "extreme" if you will, fighting FOR liberty in the face of tyranny of the majority. Utilitarianism seeks to bring about the the most pleasure (pleasure=good in this case) for the greatest number of people. This would naturally result in the tyranny of the majority.

Not really. Mill was born and bred to Utilitarianism by his father, and never "rebelled" against it - on the contrary, he wholeheartedly embraced it. He followed directly in the footsteps of Jeremy Bentham in formulating the inductive philosophy of Utilitarianism, as opposed to what he considered to be Kant's "intuitive" approach to moral theory.

"On Liberty" is a very good work, and well worth reading, but you might also have a look at J.S. Mills's "Utilitarianism" also.

[diotima]

I will admit that "rebelled" is a harsh word, however Mill certainly did more than just embrace the Benthamite concept of "Utilitarianism." The doctrine that a dissatisfied Socrates is not only better than a satisfied fool, but somehow happier, too, introduced the idea of quality over quantity into "Utilitarianism."