J. S. Mill and the Art of Compromise

Abstract

Abstract:The word compromise means a kind of agreement and a concession to something harmful or wrong. I argue that particularly this second sense is quite relevant in the ethics of political action. John Stuart Mill focused upon this issue in his Thoughts on Parliamentary Reform 1859. I outline Mill's doctrine on compromise looking at the external and internal features of an acceptable measure of compromise. These features provide a set of conditions necessary in order for compromise to take place, but they do not guarantee sufficient conditions. In order to assess Mill's political coherence and to draw a general distinction between strategic and ethical compromises the paper concludes by considering two compromise measures that Mill adopted while he was a Member of Parliament.

Decision making in compromise situations: guidelines based onJ.S.Mill's doctrine of political half‐measures

“…Mill was in favor despite that fact that it was just a half‐measure for radical democratic reformers. Certainly, a half‐measure may be even worse than anything, but Mill holds here that some half‐measures should be accepted when arisen out of a determinate kind of compromise (Thompson , Cejudo ). I shall capitalize on this neglected side of Mill's moral philosophy to devise some guidelines for ethical decision making in compromise situations.…”

Compromise and/or Integrity? Some Normative Remarks

“…The challenge of dealing with compromise touches on a range of deeply contested yet essential concepts in contemporary political philosophy (Gallie, 1956), such as the nature of politics and ethics. The ambivalent term "compromise" is increasingly used in two quite different senses (Cejudo, 2010) 1 .…”