Equality as reciprocity: John Stuart Mill\u27s The Subjection of Women

I put equality at the center of John Stuart Mill\u27s practical philosophy. His principle of perfect equality embodies a substantive relational ideal, which I call equality as reciprocity. This ideal requires removing injustices due to domination and subjection in human associations, including the family. Justice grounded on perfect equality must be the basis of personal, social, and (strictly) political life, because the moral sentiments, chief among human beings\u27 higher faculties, find adequate channels only under equality. Genuine happiness, which involves the exercise and development of these faculties, is open only to those who relate as equals. Thus, on my account, equality as reciprocity adds substance to Mill\u27s liberalism. In The Subjection of Women, Mill appealed to his view of human progress to argue for perfect equality. He maintained that this ideal is not appropriate for all times, but required for human improvement and a part of everyone\u27s good under conditions of modernity. Modern democratic cultures embrace such progressive human interests as equal justice, sympathy, and cooperation. Replacing the archaic command and obedience ethic with the nonhierarchical pattern of reciprocity would bring out human beings\u27 true virtue : living as equals. Inequality, and the exercise of unjust power generally, corrupts everyone\u27s moral character and thwarts human flourishing. All other things equal, egalitarian relations are a critical part of anyone\u27s autonomously chosen plan of life. Given human sociability, any other choice would impoverish a person\u27s life. It is clear from Mill\u27s argument for perfect equality that Mill was not a classical utilitarian. He conceived of utility broadly, as concerning progressive human interests, and argued for educating the moral part of human nature through just institutions and social practices. He believed that strengthening equal justice, the chief moral sentiment, is a central requirement of utility, because of the importance of other-regarding sentiments to a good human life. Thus, on my account, Mill\u27s enlarged account of utility supports his substantive egalitarianism. His defense of perfect equality is utilitarian only in his idiosyncratic sense