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Utilitarian

Nic Tideman: PJER


Nic Tideman: The Constitutional Conflict Between Protecting Expectations and Moral Evolution


Nic Tideman:  The Ethics of Coercion in Public Finance

While Utilitarianism is presented above as a version of Contractarianism, some people might argue for Utilitarianism independently of any such foundations. If the argument simply begins with the proposition that aggregate utility should be maximized, then there is a similar disregard for personhood. A person is then simply a device for generating utility; whether the utility is for herself or for someone else is irrelevant. People matter only to the extent that they are generators of utility. To those seeking explanations of why it is right for power to be used to prevent them from achieving their ends, this is just as dissatisfying as explanations based on hypothetical people in a contractual setting.

The great value of utilitarianism is as an ethical principle for allocating largess that is rightfully one's to allocate. If a person must decide whether to allow A to achieve purpose 1 or B to achieve purpose 2, the judgement that purpose 1 would contribute more to person A's utility than purpose 2 would contribute to person B's utility is an excellent reason for deciding in favor of person A. But justice is not concerned with largess. It is concerned with what is due to persons just from being persons, without having to prove their worthiness any further.  ...  Read the whole article

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