Utilitarianism

Liberalism: Utilitarianism

Introduction to Utilitarianism

In Britain, liberalism was elaborated by the utilitarian school, chiefly the jurist Jeremy Bentham and his disciple, the economist John Stuart Mill. The utilitarians reduced all human experiences to pleasures and pains, maintaining that the only function of the state was to increase pleasure and reduce pain and that legislation was acceptable as an evil designed to reduce worse evils. Utilitarian liberalism had an especially beneficial effect on the reform of British criminal law. Bentham demonstrated that the harsh penology of the 18th century was uneconomical and that leniency was shrewd as well as decent. Mill defended the individual’s right to act freely, even to the person’s own detriment. His essay “On Liberty” (1859) is one of the most eloquent defenses of free speech.” (1)

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about Utilitarianism in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Utilitarianism