Utility and Democracy is the first
comprehensive historical account of the political
thought of Jeremy Bentham (1[zasłonięte]748-18), the philosopher
and reformer. Philip Schofield draws on his extensive
knowledge of Bentham's unpublished manuscripts and
original printed texts, and on the new, authoritative
edition of The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham . A
compelling narrative charts the way in which Bentham
applied his utilitarian philosophy to the rapidly
changing circumstances of his age.
Schofield
begins with a lucid account of Bentham's insights in the
fields of logic and language, and in particular his
theory of real and fictitious entities, which lie at the
foundation of his thought. He proceeds to show how these
insights brought Bentham to the principle of utility,
which led him in turn to produce the first systematic
defence of democracy from a utilitarian perspective. In
contrast to previous scholarship, which claims that
Bentham's 'conversion' or 'transition' to political
radicalism took place either at the time of the French
Revolution or following his meeting with James Mill in
1808 or 1809, Professor Schofield shows that the process
began in or around 1804 when the notion of sinister
interest emerged in Bentham's thought. Bentham
appreciated that rulers, rather than being motivated by
a desire to promote the greatest happiness of those
subject to them, aimed to promote their own happiness,
whatever the overall cost to the community.
In
his constitutional writings of the 1820s, which he
addressed to 'all nations professing liberal opinions',
Bentham argued that the proper end of constitutional
design was to maximize official aptitude and minimize
government expense, and that the publicity of official
actions, within the context of a republican system of
government where sovereignty lay in the people, was the
means to achieve it. Bentham's commitment to radical
reform led him to advocate the abolition of the British
monarchy and House of Lords, the replacement of the
Common Law with a codified system of law, and the
'euthanasia' of the Anglican Church.
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