Full Idea
The safest practical ideal is to aim for the greatest dissemination of power consistent with efficiency.
Gist of Idea
Aim for the maximum dissemination of power consistent with efficiency
Source
John Stuart Mill (On Liberty [1857], Ch.5)
Book Reference
Mill,John Stuart: 'Utilitarianism (including On Liberty etc)', ed/tr. Warnock,Mary [Fontana 1962], p.248
A Reaction
This is a very nice principle, which I would think desirable within an institution as well as on the scale of the state. I am becoming a fan of Mill's politics. I still say that freedom is an overrated virtue, so efficiency must be underrated.