Greatest happiness to the greatest number

The utilitarian standard ... is not the agent’s own greatest happiness, but the greatest amount of happiness altogether, and if it may possibly be doubted whether a noble character is always the happier for its nobleness, there can be no doubt that it makes other people happier, and that the world in general is immensely a gainer by it. Utilitarianism, therefore, could only attain its end by the general cultivation of nobleness of character.
- John Stuart Mill

In almost every society people have two types of desires. Some people want change and progress. Most young people fall into this category. Undergraduates and young people clamour for rapid progress and change in education and development. They are sometimes an impatient lot. On the other hand, most elderly people and some youngsters want security and order in society. They are not so much worried about development. They want to live in a secure and orderly society. The government has to do justice to these two segments to remain in power.

With the population explosion, contemporary society has become extremely complex. In most developing countries, governments have to settle competing interests, conflicting views and dispense justice with limited resources. It so happens that privileged classes desire order and discipline in society. The not-so-privileged classes want rapid solutions to their day-to-day problems.

Welfare

The government in any developing country builds highways and housing complexes for the welfare of the people. However, when a highway is built, some people will have to give up their land and property. Such appropriation of private land at fair market prices is inevitable. Even if the owners are not willing to sell their lands, they can be forced to do so. This is done on the principle that the general welfare of the people takes precedence over individual rights.

Unknown to some of us, the principle of looking after the general welfare of the people is based on a firm philosophical foundation. Accordingly, although we must respect individual rights, the welfare of the majority takes precedence. This is nothing but utilitarianism formulated by the celebrated British philosopher Jeremy Bentham. It was further refined by his student and friend John Stuart Mill.

Modern utilitarianism developed as a response to social conditions created by the Industrial Revolution that lasted from 1780 to 1835. When large factories were opened in cities, hordes of workers sought employment in them. They did not find suitable houses to live in. As a result, large slums began to appear in the cities. This led to another problem. Unchecked population outgrew the food supply. To solve this problem, Jeremy Bentham had a philosophical solution:

Establish the conditions most conducive to promoting the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

Refined pleasures

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) championed the cause of utilitarianism formulated by his guru Jeremy Bentham. Mill refined utilitarianism and argued that “refined pleasures” are better than “cruder pleasures.” His goal was to make as many people as happy a possible. However, other contemporary moral philosophers have uncovered troubling problems with utilitarianism. For instance, the emphasis on the greatest happiness of the greatest number can result in immoral actions. Modern commentators have complained that Mill’s ethical principle is too demanding.

Today utilitarianism is an integral part of moral philosophy. However, it has never been without severe critics. Despite the reference to “the greatest number” in Bentham’s phrase, the right choice in any situation is the one which can produce the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people. The principle can be applied to politics and all other spheres of life. In that respect, the theory of utilitarianism still has a universal appeal.

Happiness

While utilitarianism remains an attractive theory in principle, there are many difficulties which arise when we try to put it into practice. For instance, it is extremely difficult to measure happiness. When we cannot do so, we find it difficult to compare the happiness of different people. Jeremy Bentham said that such comparisons could be made. For him, happiness was simply a blissful mental state.

Mill, however, suggested a distinction between higher and lower pleasures. the higher pleasures were mainly intellectual. The lower pleasures were physical. According to modern thinkers, this sounds rather elitist. This is because that amount of happiness cannot be calculated.

A further objection to utilitarianism is that it can be used to justify many actions which are deemed to be immoral. For a utilitarian, hanging a condemned criminal is the morally right thing to do. But such a course of action is repugnant to our sense of justice.