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 Dee |
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| Utilitarianism |
| Ann
Speaking
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 Libertarians place great stress on individual rights.
Utilitarians, on the other hand, give priority to their understanding of the good (be it happiness or welfare or intrinsic value) rather than to rights. I
agree with Dee on that much.And I will agree that there are some definitions of 'right' according to which utilitarianism cannot accommodate rights. But not all definitions. If you define rights as absolute or near absolute side constraints that are to be defended in spite of whatever impact it may have on the welfare of others, then I admit that utilitarianism cannot allow for rights. But having said all that, I still think that a utilitarian argument can be made for a set of serious rights. Keep in mind that in the 19th century there were classic liberals who were utilitarians. James Mill comes to mind. Mill was a convinced utilitarian who also believed strongly in rights. He saw no contradiction because he felt that it was only by defending people's rights that their happiness and welfare was assured. James' son John Stuart also combined rights with utilitarianism. And I think that there are some libertarians today who argue for their principles on utilitarian grounds. So there is at least an historical basis for combining utilitarianism with strong individual rights. Some utilitarian philosophers today would also incorporate rights into their theories. Consider the work of Richard Brandt, for example. Brandt argues as a utilitarian that we can think of rights as general rules that we should abide by even when breaking the rule would result in a small increase in utility. In other words, he does not believe that rights are the sort of rule that can be overridden merely for the sake of some small increase in utility. QUOTE Brandt "Utilitarianism and Moral Rights", p. 212. See photocopy. I agree with Brandt. And I believe that a set of rights -- both negative and positive -- can be founded on their overall, long-run utility. |
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