Utilitarianism
Topic: Schools of Economic Thought and Economic Laws · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Utilitarianism is an ethical doctrine linked to Jeremy Bentham and J.S. Mill. It says the right action is the one that gives "the greatest happiness to the greatest number". In economic terms, the best choice is the one that maximises total utility, meaning total satisfaction or well-being. It matters because it underpins early welfare economics, which judges a policy by how much it adds to society's total well-being.
Example
A government has a fixed budget. It can build a flyover used by a few thousand car owners, or clean drinking-water connections for many lakh rural homes. A utilitarian would pick the water project, because it adds more to total happiness.
Don't confuse with
- Antyodaya: Deendayal Upadhyaya's principle of lifting the last and poorest person first. Utilitarianism looks at the total gain, even if the poorest gain little. Antyodaya puts the worst-off first.
Related concepts
- Mercantilism
- Bullionism
- Physiocracy
- Classical economics
- Laissez-faire
- Night-watchman state
- Division of labour
- Labour theory of value
- Say's law
- Malthusian theory of population