“ All human beings have the same interest in good government; the welfare of all is alike affected by it, and they have equal need of a voice in it to secure their share of its benefits. If there be any difference, women require it more than men, since, being physically weaker, they are more dependent on law and society for protection. ”
John Stuart Mill, Considerations on Representative Government (1861). copy citation
| Author | John Stuart Mill |
|---|---|
| Source | Considerations on Representative Government |
| Topic | protection society |
| Date | 1861 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/5669/5669-h/5669-h.htm |
Context
“In the preceding argument for universal but graduated suffrage, I have taken no account of difference of sex. I consider it to be as entirely irrelevant to political rights as difference in height or in the color of the hair. All human beings have the same interest in good government; the welfare of all is alike affected by it, and they have equal need of a voice in it to secure their share of its benefits. If there be any difference, women require it more than men, since, being physically weaker, they are more dependent on law and society for protection. Mankind have long since abandoned the only premises which will support the conclusion that women ought not to have votes. No one now holds that women should be in personal servitude; that they should have no thought, wish, or occupation but to be the domestic drudges of husbands, fathers, or brothers.”
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