According to Mills, government should not attempt to control individual freedoms, but should help individuals develop in society. A society is only as big as the people who make it up. How a person develops should be up to them, but a government should support this development. Ensuring the free flow of factual information and opportunities for open debate are ways a government can help. Once again, he uses history as support. He says that the history of humanity is a story of intellectual and social progress. All the advances in our history are based on man's desire to move away from ignorance. We are the only species capable of reasoning and developing our intellect for our own benefit. It is the development of our intellectual abilities that has made us what we are today and that distinguishes us from animals. Our progress as a species relies on the acquisition of new knowledge and truths. How can a society change and develop if everyone thinks and acts the same way? We should encourage different ideas and thinking. We need to look at an issue or problem from all sides and angles. We should create an environment that encourages the creation of genius. without harmful compression, in one of the small numbers of molds which society provides in order to spare its members the trouble of forming their own character. "(On Liberty, Chapter 3) According to Mills, Jesus was a genius who thought and acted outside the box of his time. His actions, interrupted by a repressive government, are certainly middle of paper...... in requiring people to practice individual freedoms within reason and without unnecessary government intervention, a society can achieve great things. The progress we have made, the contributions to the world, and the growths we have made as a society (even. if we still have a long way to go), all demonstrate the importance of individual freedoms and the creation of an environment favorable to creation and the support of genius. appears to be a "success story" based on Mills' thoughts, it is also important to heed his warnings about the ever-present threat of power grabs, as well as the creation and perpetuation of dogma. On Liberty is a document that must be read and reread by anyone who believes and cherishes individual rights and freedoms. They are not based on a hypothetical society. Lessons are based on common sense and experience from John Stuart Mills..