Classical utilitarianism, as canonically formulated by Jeremy Bentham, holds that human behavior is comprehensively and deterministically governed by the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain, and that this same principle of utility ought to ground political and legislative design, with the goal of maximizing aggregate happiness ("the greatest happiness of the greatest number") through interpersonally comparable and quantifiable measures of utility. The doctrine is characterized as naturalistic (grounded in biological survival imperatives rather than tradition, religion, or natural law), egoistic yet objectivist (self-interest is assumed regardless of an individual's own stated motives), and radically consequentialist/teleological (judging actions solely by outcomes rather than intentions, in contrast to deontological ethical systems); it further grounds a theory of government's role in overcoming market failures such as free-riding on public goods and the tragedy of the commons. This belongs to political philosophy and normative ethics, specifically the foundational articulation of utilitarianism as a scientific, secular alternative to natural-law and social-contract traditions of political theory.
Classical utilitarianism, as canonically formulated by Jeremy Bentham, holds that human behavior is comprehensively and deterministically governed by the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain, an…