Essay On Contractualism Vs Utilitarianism

How should I make sense of morality in the world? Should I be stuck in a very rigid norm with very little actual decisions to be made, or should I have the flexibility to be able to make the moral, correct decision? Clearly, choosing the path that gives me the flexibility to make the correct decision is more favorable. This is where utilitarianism comes in, that is, the train of thought that the morally correct decision is the one that maximizes the happiness in the world and minimizes unhappiness. This train of thought can be taken to heart in almost all aspects of life. If nothing else, this view is much more applicable the majority of the time when compared with deontology and contractualism. Those views are much too rigid and don’t maximize the ability for the correct decision to be made. In this essay, I will be arguing that utilitarianism is the superior moral theory as a whole due to its ability to make the most people happy. Also all …show more content…
Contractualism is the moral theory that right and wrong depends on social contracts. Thomas Hobbes continues this by including that the laws of the social establishment should be enforced with the statement, “covenants without the sword are but words” (Pojman 602). If people only commit moral actions due to the fear of law enforcement, what is stopping people from doing immoral actions if they know they will not be caught. It is absurd to think that every immoral action can be stopped by law enforcement; furthermore, the action is not immoral if it cannot be caught by law enforcement. Therefore, a more complete moral theory should be in place like utilitarianism which promotes a net increase of happiness in the world and does not depend on what society says or if they are even able to enforce their laws. For this reason, I believe contractualism is unfit to be the best moral