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One for All and All for One
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The Victorians believed social progress was determined by
he effort of the individual.
More specifically, Victorian John
Stuart Mill thought it depended upon a society’s commitment to
the freedom of the individual.
If individuals are forced to
conform to custom, tradition, or an established institution, then
society will become stagnant.
Also, Mill believed a progressive
and hopeful future comes from the individual aspiring to
transcend the past.
Reliance on the past will retard society
through inactivity of the individual.
Mill hopes that if the
individual has the will and ability to develop his or her talents,
breaking away from institutions of the past, then society will
progress.
Robert Browning tempers Mill’s idealistic hopes of
individual freedom:
he concurred that social progress rests on
allowing for individual liberties; however, he warned that social
progress occurs only when the individual utilizes his or her
energy for societal not personal gain.