Lesson 4: Utilitarianism

What Is Utilitarianism?

Utilitarianism is a theory of morality that supports actions that foster happiness or

pleasure. It opposes actions that cause unhappiness or harm. A utilitarian philosophy would
aim for the betterment of society as a whole when it's directed toward making social,
economic, or political decisions.

Utilitarianism would advocate that an action is right if it results in the happiness of

the greatest number of people in a society or a group.

Understanding Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism is a tradition of ethical philosophy that's associated with Jeremy

Bentham (1747-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), two British philosophers,
economists, and political thinkers. The theory holds that an action is right if it tends to
promote happiness. It's wrong if it tends to produce sadness or the reverse of happiness for
everyone affected by it.

You display utilitarianism at work when you take action to ensure that the office is a
positive environment for your co-workers, and then you make it so for yourself.

"The greatest good for the greatest number" is a utilitarianism maxim.

3 Generally Accepted Principles of Utilitarianism

 Pleasure or happiness is the only thing that has intrinsic value. Intrinsic value
implies that something is good in itself. It contrasts with instrumental value:
something has instrumental value when it serves as a means to an end.
Example: Imagine a student receives a medal for academic excellence.
o The medal itself is just a piece of metal—it doesn’t have value on its
own.
o But the student feels happy and proud after receiving it.
o According to utilitarianism, it’s not the medal that has real value—it’s
the happiness the student feels that truly matters.
o The pleasure or happiness the student experiences is what has
intrinsic value—it is valuable in itself, not just as a means to
something else.

 Actions are right if they promote happiness and wrong if they promote
unhappiness. This principle is quite controversial because it implies that the moral
quality of an action is decided by the size of its consequences. Utilitarianism doesn't
care whether the results are driven by immoral motives, provided that an action
 produces maximum benefits for the greatest number of people. This principle can be
refuted, however, because most people would agree that the moral quality of an
action depends on the motive or intention behind it.
Example: A teacher notices that one student forgot their lunch.
Instead of letting the student go hungry, the teacher shares some food or arranges for
the student to eat at the canteen.
✅ Right action: Helping the student promotes happiness—the student feels cared for,
healthy, and included.
❌ Wrong action: Ignoring the student’s situation would lead to unhappiness—the
student feels hungry, embarrassed, and possibly sick.
👉 According to utilitarianism, the teacher’s helpful action is morally right because it
increases happiness and reduces suffering.

 Everyone's happiness counts equally. This axiom may seem quite obvious, but the
principle of equality was radical and progressive in Bentham's time. It was
commonly accepted that some lives and some people's happiness were simply more
important and valuable than others. Betham's principle of equality makes the
government responsible for creating policies that would benefit all equally, not just
the elite.
Example: A school principal receives a donation that can only be used to fund one
of two projects:
Option A: Buy air conditioning for the faculty lounge (which will benefit 5 teachers).
Option B: Provide free lunch for 50 financially struggling students for one week.

Even though the teachers might be more vocal or influential, the principal chooses
Option B—because it brings happiness to more people, especially those in greater
need.
👉 This decision reflects the idea that everyone’s happiness matters the same,
regardless of age, status, or role. The happiness of 50 students is not less important
than that of 5 teachers.

The Founders of Utilitarianism

Jeremy Bentham describes his "greatest happiness principle" in

"Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation," a 1789 publication. He
wrote, "Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters,
pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to
determine what we shall do."
John Stuart Mill had many years to absorb and reflect on Jeremy Bentham's
thoughts on utilitarianism by the time he published his work, "Utilitarianism," in
1863. The key passage from this book states:

"The creed which accepts as the foundation 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. By
happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and
the privation of pleasure."

Utilitarianism's Relevance in a Political Economy

The progenitors of utilitarianism have spawned variants and extensions of its core
principles in liberal democracies throughout the centuries. Some questions they wrestled
with include:

 What constitutes the greatest amount of good?

 How is happiness defined?
 How is justice accommodated?

Policymakers are generally proponents of free markets in Western democracies, and

some base level of government interference in the private lives of citizens to assure safety
and security. The appropriate amount of regulation and laws will always be a subject of
debate, but political and economic policies are geared primarily toward fostering as much
well-being for as many people as possible.

Most politicians would seek to find a remedy for disadvantaged groups that suffer
from income inequality or other negative consequences resulting from a utilitarian-based
policy or action.

Utilitarianism's Relevance in the Workplace

Companies typically have a formal or informal code of ethics that's shaped by their
corporate culture, values, and regional laws. Having a formalized code of business ethics
has become more important than ever.

A business not only has to increase its bottom line if it's going to grow, but it must
also create a reputation for being socially responsible. Companies must endeavor to keep
their promises and put ethics at least on par with profits. Consumers are looking for
companies they can trust, and employees work better when there's a solid model of ethics in
place.

Everyone's happiness will increase if you make morally correct decisions at work,
but your happiness and that of your colleagues will decrease if you choose to do something
morally wrong, even if it's legal.

Utilitarianism's Relevance in Business

Utilitarianism holds that the most ethical choice is one that will produce the greatest good
for the greatest number. It's the only moral framework that can justify military force or war.
Utilitarianism is the most common approach to business ethics as well because of the way it
accounts for costs and benefits.

The theory asserts that there are two types of utilitarian ethics practiced in the business
world: "rule" utilitarianism and "act" utilitarianism.

 Rule utilitarianism helps the largest number of people using the fairest possible
methods.
 Act utilitarianism makes the most ethical actions possible for the benefit of the
people.

"Rule" Utilitarian Ethics

An example of rule utilitarianism in business is tiered pricing for a product or
service for different types of customers. Many planes offer first-, business-, and economy-
class seats in the airline industry. Customers who fly in first or business class pay a much
higher rate than those in economy seats, but they also get more amenities. People who can't
afford upper-class seats benefit from the economy rates. This practice produces the highest
good for the greatest number of people.

The airline benefits as well. The expensive upper-class seats help to ease the
financial burden the airline created by making room for economy-class seats.

"Act" Utilitarian Ethics

An example of act utilitarianism would be when pharmaceutical companies release
drugs that have been governmentally approved but with minor known side effects. They do
so because the drug can help more people than those who are bothered by the side effects.
Act utilitarianism often demonstrates the concept that "the end justifies the means" or it's at
least worth it.

Quantitative Utilitarianism vs. Qualitative Utilitarianism

Quantitative utilitarianism is a branch of utilitarianism that was developed from

the work of Jeremy Bentham. Quantitative utilitarians focus on utility maximization,
maximizing the overall happiness of everyone. They use a hedonic approach to determine
the rightness or wrongness of actions. Bentham defined the foundation of his philosophy as
the principle that "it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of
right and wrong."

Qualitative utilitarianism is a branch of utilitarianism that arose from the work of

John Stuart Mill. Qualitative utilitarians categorize pleasures and pains more qualitatively
depending on the level of their consequences, and they disregard any quantifiable proof of
their importance.
FAST FACT
o Qualitative utilitarianism argues that mental pleasures and pains are different in
kind and superior in quality to purely physical ones.
o Quantitative utilitarianism argues that mental pleasures and pains differ from
physical ones only in terms of quantity.

The Limitations of Utilitarianism

Utilitarian ethics are difficult to achieve in the workplace, however. These ethics can be
challenging to maintain in our business culture where a capitalistic economy often teaches
people to focus on themselves at the expense of others. Monopolistic competition similarly
teaches one business to flourish at the expense of others.

A limitation of utilitarianism is that it tends to create a black-and-white construct of

morality. There are no shades of gray in utilitarian ethics. Something is either wrong or it is
right.

Utilitarianism can't predict with certainty whether the consequences of our actions will be
good or bad because the results of our actions happen in the future.

Utilitarianism has trouble accounting for values like justice and individual rights. Say a
hospital has four people whose lives depend upon receiving various organ transplants: a
heart, lungs, a kidney, and a liver. A healthy person's organs could be harvested to save
four lives at the expense of their one life if they wander into the hospital. This would
arguably produce the greatest good for the greatest number but few would consider it an
acceptable course of action let alone an ethical one.

What Are the Principles of Utilitarianism?

Utilitarianism advocates that it's a virtue to improve one's life by increasing the good things
in the world and minimizing the bad things. This means striving for pleasure and happiness
while avoiding discomfort or unhappiness.

What Is a Utilitarian?

A utilitarian is someone who holds the beliefs of utilitarianism. These people might be
described as cold and calculating, practical, and perhaps even selfish because they may
seek their own pleasure at the expense of the social good at times.

What Is Utilitarian Value in Consumer Behavior?

A purchase has utilitarian value if a consumer buys something only for its practical use.
This is its value in a calculative and rational evaluation. It precludes any sort of emotional
or sentimental valuing or psychological biases.

What Is the Role of Utilitarianism in the Business Environment?

Its ideology argues for the greatest good for the greatest number, so a business acting in a
utilitarian fashion should increase the welfare of others. Utilitarianism can lead in practice
to greed and dog-eat-dog competition that can undermine the social good, however.

The Bottom Line

Utilitarianism offers a relatively simple method for deciding the morally correct course of
action for any particular situation. The principle of utilitarianism has been refined and
expanded in many variations over the years. Utilitarians describe benefits and harms in
terms of the satisfaction of personal preferences or in purely economic terms of monetary
benefits over monetary costs rather than in terms of "happiness" and "pleasure."