This is the position in which, according to the principles
we have laid down, the rich and the poor, the much and the little
educated, and all the other classes and denominations which divide
society between them, ought as far as practicable to be placed. And by
combining this principle with the otherwise just one of allowing
superiority of weight to superiority of mental qualities, a
political constitution would realise that kind of relative
perfection which is alone compatible with the complicated nature of
human affairs.
In the preceding argument for universal, but graduated suffrage, I
have taken no account of difference of sex. I consider it to be as
entirely irrelevant to political rights as difference in height or
in the colour of the hair. All human beings have the same interest
in good government; the welfare of all is alike affected by it, and
they have equal need of a voice in it to secure their share of its
benefits. If there be any difference, women require it more than
men, since, being physically weaker, they are more dependent on law
and society for protection. Mankind have long since abandoned the only
premises which will support the conclusion that women ought not to
have votes. No one now holds that women should be in personal
servitude, that they should have no thought, wish, or occupation,
but to be the domestic drudges of husbands, fathers, or brothers.
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