History of utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is a philosophical strand that has in some way, directly or indirectly, influenced leading economists from Adam Smith to modern welfare economists. The idea of utilitarianism or utilism also connects values with psychology of happiness, and moral issues with economic issues. It refers to a body of philosophical doctrines proposed by Jeremy Bentham and re-invented by John Stuart Mill (Urmson, 1968, 224-229). It also refers to the idea that utility is the sole goal of action; the moral worth of an action depends solely on its consequence for maximization of utility. Here the term utility was varyingly defined as pleasure, preference, satisfaction, knowledge or other things. This implies that in any situation one should have more of good things or qualities and less of bad things or qualities. In other words, moral worth or value of an action (or even rules) depends on its consequences.
Utilitarians were not concerned about private happiness only. They were equally concerned about society. There were two aims of utilitarianism:
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