however, if a couple mutually agrees to terminate their marriage, they are permitted to do so because society has no grounds to intervene in such a deeply personal contract. Education Mill believes that government run education is an evil because it would destroy diversity of opinion for all people to be taught the curriculum developed by a few. The less evil version of state run schooling, according to Mill, is that which competes against other privately run schools. In contrast, Mill believes that governments ought to require and fund private education. He states that they should enforce mandatory education through minor fines and annual standardised testing that tested only uncontroversial fact. He goes on to emphasise the importance of a diverse education that teaches opposing views (e.g. Kant and Locke). He concludes by stating that it is legitimate for states to forbid marriages unless the couple can prove that they have "means of supporting a family" through education and other basic necessities. Conclusion J. S. Mill concludes by stating three general reasons to object to governmental interference: if agents do the action better than the government. if it benefits agents to do the action though the government may be more qualified to do so. if the action would add so greatly to the government power that it would become over-reaching or individual ambition would be turned into dependency on government. He summarises his thesis, stating: Reception On Liberty was enormously popular in the years following its publication. Thomas Hardy recalled later in life that undergraduates in the 1860s knew the book almost by heart. Criticisms of the book in the 19th century came chiefly from thinkers who felt that Mill's concept of liberty left the door open for barbarism, such as Thomas Carlyle, James Fitzjames Stephen and Matthew Arnold. In more recent times, although On Liberty garnered adverse criticism, it has been largely received as an important classic of political thought for its ideas and accessibly lucid style. Denise Evans and Mary L. Onorato summarise the modern reception of On Liberty, stating: "[c]ritics regard his essay On Liberty as a seminal work in the development of British liberalism. Enhanced by his powerful, lucid, and accessible prose style, Mill's writings on government, economics, and logic suggest a model for society that remains compelling and relevant." As one sign of the book's importance, a copy of On Liberty is the symbol of