Jeremy Bentham created the
Principle of Utility or
Utilitarianism with his essay “An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation.” The ideas behind Utilitarianism are simple:
happiness for the individual is paramount, happiness for the community is a derivative, and
governments should attempt to make laws that value this happiness and promote further pleasure. These are the basic fundamentals for a utilitarian way of life,
society, and government.
Nature dictates through pleasure and pain. It is inherently human to seek out happiness and shun pain. Thus, the individual will attempt to act in ways that make the individual happy and stay away from elements that cause pain.
A group of individuals comprises a community. Therefore, the sum of the interests of the individuals comprises the interest of the community. The same want for happiness is then transferred to the community. A community will try to achieve a higher happiness and restrict pain.
The actions of these communities to bring about happiness are referred to as laws or dictates of utility. Basically, actions that conform to the principles of utility, actions that further happiness, are the laws of utility. It is the duty of a utilitarian government to promote laws of utility to further the happiness of the subject community.
In order for a government to promote for the general happiness of a community, it must attempt to measure the value of an action. On a personal level, the individual rates the happiness gained from a utilitarian act by the intensity, duration, certainty, and propinquity of the happiness. This can go further to rate the fecundity and purity of an act. A government must measure the intrinsic value of happiness using the same six circumstances. However, a seventh arises. This concerns the extent to which the happiness is spread throughout the community.
While strict utilitarian style of government or individual moral code is not expected, it should be kept as a guide so that the thinking process associated with utilitarianism approaches the general character of utilitarianism.