Utilitarianism
From Conservapedia
Utilitarianism is a political moral philosophy which calls for actions to be judged on their usefulness (or magnitude of reward) to society or select individuals.
Jeremy Bentham, one of utilitarianism's early proponents, called the process of determining the most useful possible action the hedonistic calculus. One would, according to Bentham, measure the pleasure of certain actions against the pleasure of other actions. The problems of such a calculus include the feasibility of interpersonal utility comparisons, the weighting of utility through time, and the "artificial" utility gained not from actual actions but from, for example, avoiding risk. The theoretical person which nonetheless succeeds in undertaking such a computation is said to be a rational actor.
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Utilitarianism and utility
"Utility" is defined as the good to be maximized. Different thinkers have further defined it as happiness, well-being or pleasure. The idea of utilitarianism as a moral code was first thought up by 18th century reformer and philosopher Jeremy Bentham. He believed that, "nature has put man under the governance of two sovereign masters: pleasure and pain." Thus, he concluded that good is whatever it is that brings on the greatest happiness. His belief was passed on by others after him.
Utilitarianism in the social sciences
Across the social sciences, utilitarianism is encountered in the form of rational choice theories. In economics, it is the foundation of marginal analysis. In these academic contexts, utilitarianism serves as a tool for the analysis of social behavior. The partial exception to this lies in the field of welfare economics, where some economists have tried to apply modern forms of the "hedonistic calculus" to issues of public choice.
Critiques of utilitarianism
Utility has been accused of supporting the idea that the ends justifies means, or that only material means count in the "hedonistic calculus." In fact, this is exactly what Bentham is arguing for.
In addition, Utilitarianism has been accused of being an unworkable system, since one cannot necessarily know the consequences of all actions.
