John Stuart Mill extensively articulates the ethical theory in his text Utilitarianism (1861). Mill’s Greatest Happiness Principle claims that actions can be considered moral if they encourage utility and immoral if they do the opposite. He stipulates that a man’s action should aim at promoting overall happiness even though it is difficult to predict the future. Mill states that one should evaluate the consequences of their actions and act in a way that will have the best results for the society. Mill says,” The creed which accepts as the foundations of morals “utility” or the “greatest happiness principle” holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness” (Mill, 19). He claims that it is not possible to say which action is permissible unless its consequences are compared with the consequences of the other actions that a person could have performed.
Mill goes on to elaborate that the maximization of liberty is the best way to greatest happiness. He thinks that it is justified to prohibit slavery, even if the individual consents to his enslavement. He claims that people have the right to do whatever they want as long as it does not affect the rights of others. For him, consensual slavery is abdicating liberty that leads to forgoing of any future use of it. The principle of Greatest Happiness is good, but it has several flaws and will fail in the real world because of our inability to know the future. The failure to predict the future can lead to a huge difference between the outcome of our actions and our desires. The principle also claims that one can cause pain to others if it results in the happiness of majority of people. This idea is flawed as crimes like murders, rape, and racism can then be justified under Utilitarianism. Mill’s idea on slavery is also internally flawed. While Mill believes in greater good and prohibits giving one’s freedom completely, he does not present a strong case against giving one’s freedom temporarily in return for further freedom later. Moreover, one of the many ways we get more opportunities in our lives is by limiting our liberty and confining to a socio political system. Thus, it can be concluded that Mill’s principles have flaws just like any other ethical system.
Works Cited
Mill, John S. Utilitarianism. New York: Jonathan Bennett, 2005. Print.
