Abstract
James Mill combines a French view of class exploitation, where society is divided into “those who pillage” and “those who are pillaged,” with Bentham’s idea of the “ruling few” and the “subject many.” He examines the complex system whereby the many are kept subject: the fear of foreign invasion thus requiring a large military establishment, the pomp and ceremony of the ruling elite, the priestly class which instills habits of subservience through the education system, and the lawyers who maintain the legal system which controls the people.
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“Tyranny and oppression never wanted either a plea or an advocate for whatever they did: for the majority of the lawyers, the divines, and all quæstuary professions, will be sure to run over to the stronger side, where will passes for law, and rapine for Providence.”—L’Estrange, Fab. 483.
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Hart, D.M., Chartier, G., Kenyon, R.M., Long, R.T. (2018). James Mill, “On Those Who Pillage and Those Who Are Pillaged” (1835). In: Hart, D., Chartier, G., Kenyon, R., Long, R. (eds) Social Class and State Power. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64894-1_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64894-1_11
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