Modern utilitarianism
In Peter Newman (ed.) The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics and the Law, London, 2002, pp. 1309–1314
Abstract
Utilitarianism is the view that one should do whatever will bring about the greatest amount of good. It was first clearly propounded in the eighteenth century by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1789). Leading figures in its subsequent development were John Stuart Mill (1863) and Henry Sidgwick (1874), both philosophers with a strong interest in economics. Throughout its history, economists have had a strong influence on the development of utilitarian thinking. Recently, work by the economist John Harsanyi (1953, 1955, 1977a) has been particularly influential. Important recent writings include Griffin (1986), the debate contained in Smart and Williams (1973) and the collection in Sen and Williams (1982).
Quotes from this work
Until the 1970s, utilitarianism held a dominant position in the practical moral philosophy of the English-speaking world. Since that time, it has had a serious rival in contractualism, a, ethical theory that was relaunched into modern thinking in 1971 by John Rawls’s Theory of Justice. There were even reports of utilitarianism’s imminent death. But utilitarianism is now in a vigorous and healthy state. It is responding to familiar objections. It is facing up to new problems such as the ethics of population. It has revitalized its foundation with new arguments. It has radically changed its conception of human wellbeing. It remains a credible moral theory.