Discussed and debated from time immemorial, the issue of personal liberty went without codification until the 1859 publication of Mill's enduring and eloquent treatise. In powerful and persuasive prose, Mill asks and answers provocative questions relating to the boundaries of social authority and individual sovereignty. This new edition offers students of political science and philosophy, in an inexpensive volume, one of the most influential studies on the nature of individual liberty and its role in a democratic society.