In modern Europe, it is now agreed upon that the best way to organize society is through the principles of individual freedom and competitive meritocracy. The other problem is that men generally do not wish to feel that they are oppressing women, and thus they indoctrinate women into believing (or behaving like) they welcome their oppression. Many women express their displeasure at their subjugation, including those across the world who are currently fighting for the right to vote. Others argue that women freely consent to being ruled by men, yet this isn’t actually true either.

People often justify gender inequality by arguing that it reflects human nature-but the same thing was once said of slavery, which is now widely understood to be a brutal, abhorrent institution. A modern, fair society should move away from this cruel system and institute structures that will best support the prosperity of all people. Mill laments the fact that the unequal system currently in place was not decided upon via a process of rational deliberation, but instead emerged from the “law of the strongest” that favored those with the most physical strength. Instead of men holding disproportionate privilege and power, men and women should be entirely equal. In The Subjection of Women, John Stuart Mill argues both that the current state of gender inequality is inherently wrong and that it is prohibiting human flourishing.

The subjection of women book