Mill and Sidgwick, Imperialism and Racism.pdf

Mill and Sidgwick, Imperialism and Racism B A R T S C H U LT Z University of Chicago This essay is in effect something of a self-review of my book Henry Sidgwick: Eye of the Universe (2004) and of the volume, co-edited with Georgios Varouxakis, Utilitarianism and Empire (2005). My chief concern here is to go beyond those earlier works in underscoring the arbitrariness of the dominant contextualist and reconstructive historical accounts of J. S. Mill and Henry Sidgwick on the subjects of race and racism. The forms of racism are many, and simple historical accuracy suggests that both Mill and Sidgwick could be described as ‘racist’ on some plausible understandings of that term. In politics, all abstract terms conceal treachery. C. L. R. James, The Black Jacobins To prove a negative, the argument must be capable of being expressed in this form:– No one who is capable of self-control is necessarily vicious; ⎫ ⎬ All negroes Some negroes are capable of self-control; ⎭ Mr. A s negro therefore ⎫ ⎬ No negroes are Some negroes are not necessarily vicious Mr. A’s negro is not ⎭ John Stuart Mill, A System of Logic ¨ I would like to begin this essay with some designedly naıve remarks about the construction of philosophical heroes versus philosophical villains, remarks that will help define the opposing poles in more or less current philosophical receptions and reconstructions of the work of John Stuart Mill and Henry Sidgwick. Perhaps it is especially appro- priate, at this bicentennial moment, to engage in some such reflection on what is living and what is