Am J Psychiatry 1977; 134:1428-1429
Copyright © 1977 by American Psychiatric Association
John Stuart Mill on the liberty of the mentally ill: a historical note
J Monahan
The author discusses the quote from Mill's On Liberty that is often cited
by libertarians in opposition to involuntary commitment of the mentally
ill. This quote has been taken out of context; other statements in the
document indicate that Mill excluded from his libertarian credo those
"without the ordinary amount of understanding," i.e., those people who
would now be considered mentally ill.
