I am disposed to agree with what has been surmised by others, that the opportunity which my official position gave me of learning by personal observation the necessary conditions of the practical conduct of public affairs, has been of considerable value to me as a theoretical reformer of the opinions and institutions of my time. Not, indeed, that public business transacted on paper, to take effect on the other side of the globe, was of itself calculated to give much practical knowledge of life. But the occupation accustomed me to see and hear the difficulties of every course, and the means of obviating them, stated and discussed deliberately with a view to execution; it gave me opportunities of perceiving when public measures, and other political facts, did not produce the effects which had been expected of them, and from what causes; above all, it was valuable to me by making me, in this portion of my activity, merely one wheel in a machine, the whole of which had to work together. As a speculative writer, I should have had no one to consult but myself, and should have encountered in my speculations none of the obstacles which would have started up whenever they came to be applied to practice. But as a Secretary conducting political correspondence, I could not issue an order or express an opinion, without satisfying various persons very unlike myself, that the thing was fit to be done. I was thus in a good position for finding out by practice the mode of putting a thought which gives it easiest admittance into minds not prepared for it by habit; while I became practically conversant with the difficulties of moving bodies of men, the necessities of compromise, the art of sacrificing the non-essential to preserve the essential. I learnt how to obtain the best I could, when I could not obtain everything; instead of being indignant or dispirited because I could not have entirely my own way, to be pleased and encouraged when I could have the smallest part of it; and when even that could not be, to bear with complete equanimity the being overruled altogether. I have found, through life, these acquisitions to be of the greatest possible importance for personal happiness, and they are also a very necessary condition for enabling any one, either as theorist or as practical man, to effect the greatest amount of good compatible with his opportunities.

Note from KBJ: (1) Mill was learning how to be part of a team. He must have known something of this, having grown up in a large family, but since he was educated at home, by his father, he didn’t have to learn how to get along with other children at school. Most of us learn such things as turn-taking in kindergarten. Submitting your ideas to others for consideration is a form of turn-taking. Sometimes your ideas prevail; sometimes they don’t. (2) I thought of academia as I read this paragraph. Scholars must submit their work to their peers, who must approve it prior to publication. It’s a disciplining process. No, it’s not always fair (scholars have axes to grind and carry personal and professional grudges), but for the most part it works. (3) This paragraph shows the importance of combining theory and practice. Mill learned a lesson that escapes many progressives, namely, that good intentions aren’t enough. Sometimes good intentions go awry, making things worse. (The road to hell is paved with good intentions.) Think of the bad effects of such progressive programs as welfare, the minimum wage, and affirmative action. This doesn’t mean these programs are unjust; it means that they have costs as well as benefits. A wise person takes both costs and benefits into account in deciding what to do. (4) Mill says that he was forced to articulate his ideas in a way that made them accessible to his audience. This is important. If I’m talking to a judge, I’ll speak legalese, for I know that the judge, who is trained as I am, will understand. But if I’m in my office talking to a client, I will speak ordinary English. To be effective, one must communicate, and that requires attending to one’s audience. In my role as a teacher, for example, I seek to be the intermediary between the authors (such as Kant) and my students. My aim is to translate Kant into a language my students can understand.