Disturbing Discrepancies
Utilitarianism is a theory of morality in government that operates under the principle that the good of the masses is more important than the happiness of any single person or entity. It argues that whatever action will bring about the greatest good for the greatest number is therefore the right option. This idea of improving the lives of many is hard to refute simply as a principle, as one is certainly in the moral right to place one’s neighbors before oneself. That being said, should individuals always be deemed second class to the masses? Doesn’t that restrict personal liberties? These pressing questions about personal interest and liberty pave the way for an opposing theoretical system of government morality: Libertarianism. Libertarians argue for freedom in every aspect of society: the market, social issues, and economic policies, just to name a few. They believe that individual freedom is to be valued above all else. Under the system of Libertarianism, an act is permissible unless it violates any single person’s right to own and run themselves, their property, and their time.
Both of these theories promote …show more content…
Think about it: the Colosseum held roughly fifty thousand spectators. If all those in attendance were entertained, as is noted in the case study, fifty thousand people received a degree of pleasure as a direct result of this mans death. Now, who is negatively impacted by this event? Assuming that he has a family and a few friends, let us assume that there are ten people that will be directly negatively impacted by this event. As mentioned above, the basic goal of Utilitarianism is to promote the greatest good for the greatest number. Under the Utilitarian view, the fifty thousand outweigh the ten, and therefore the calculation of net pleasure produced is positive, and thus the killing is
Utilitarianism is a theory of morality in government that operates under the principle that the good of the masses is more important than the happiness of any single person or entity. It argues that whatever action will bring about the greatest good for the greatest number is therefore the right option. This idea of improving the lives of many is hard to refute simply as a principle, as one is certainly in the moral right to place one’s neighbors before oneself. That being said, should individuals always be deemed second class to the masses? Doesn’t that restrict personal liberties? These pressing questions about personal interest and liberty pave the way for an opposing theoretical system of government morality: Libertarianism. Libertarians argue for freedom in every aspect of society: the market, social issues, and economic policies, just to name a few. They believe that individual freedom is to be valued above all else. Under the system of Libertarianism, an act is permissible unless it violates any single person’s right to own and run themselves, their property, and their time.
Both of these theories promote …show more content…
Think about it: the Colosseum held roughly fifty thousand spectators. If all those in attendance were entertained, as is noted in the case study, fifty thousand people received a degree of pleasure as a direct result of this mans death. Now, who is negatively impacted by this event? Assuming that he has a family and a few friends, let us assume that there are ten people that will be directly negatively impacted by this event. As mentioned above, the basic goal of Utilitarianism is to promote the greatest good for the greatest number. Under the Utilitarian view, the fifty thousand outweigh the ten, and therefore the calculation of net pleasure produced is positive, and thus the killing is