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| Utilitarianism |
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 One of the most fundamental problems with utilitarianism is that it cannot accommodate individual rights. It cannot take rights seriously.Utilitarianism is committed to maximizing some result. Some utilitarians speak of happiness. Some speak of pleasure. Some speak of preferences. Some speak of intrinsic value. But in every case, utilitarians want to maximize some result. As long as maximization is the criterion of the right or the good, individual rights as I understand them cannot be inserted into the theory. For example, utilitarianism will justify slavery if slavery maximizes welfare -- however welfare is defined. As I understand rights, their function is precisely to prohibit certain actions -- certain ways of treating or ill-treating the individual -- in spite of their so-called beneficial consequences. |
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