But John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) was also one of the most important economists of the nineteenth century. His Principles of Political Economy, originally published in 1848, became the leading textbook for at least two generations of students, from which they learned the nature of a market economy and its alternatives.

J. S. Mill's Sympathies for Socialism and "Distributive Justice"

Mill has been a highly controversial figure among friends of freedom because while strongly endorsing the autonomy of the individual in thought and deed, he believed (and even hoped) that someday in the future human nature might have changed enough to be compatible with elements of the socialist idea of an altruistic good society.

He also argued that while the physical laws of production (the technological requirements of producing goods from resources and raw materials) are beyond man's control to arbitrarily change, the "laws of distribution" were open to human choice and manipulation, given any social values people may have.

- See more at: http://www.thedailybell.com/editorials/36468/Richard-Ebeling-John-Stuart-Mill-and-the-Dangers-from-Unrestrained-Government/#sthash.tg8vbl8h.dpuf