Braoudakis Date: 16/01/2012 Class: Philosophy SL IB1 Summary of the discussion on Utilitarianism of John Wolf
In a chapter of John Wolfs book it discussed the subject of
utilitarianism as an argument to justify the State. In this chapter Wolf discuss about how the utilitarianism theory can justify the power of the State over us after the failure of the contractarian and the State of nature argument. The definition of utilitarianism given in his is that an action is morally correct if it brings the highest possible total of sum. Furthermore, he defines utility as happiness or pleasure, in order to suggest that we must measure and quantify utility so that we can know which action creates the more benefits to the community. However, he argues that this suggestion is a problematic one because we cant measure happiness without a scale to compare situations. He refers to this problem as the interpersonal comparison of utility. Furthermore, he describes how Jeremy Bentham supports the idea of utilitarianism. He claims we should obey the laws if and only if our obedience leads to a greater happiness of society than our disobedience. However, as Wolf states this claim of Bentham creates a serious problem. This problem is that everyone can and must violate the laws if it is to his advantage. This will lead to immoral actions, which will conclude on creating a society full of insecurity
and
injustice.
Furthermore,
Wolf
makes
small
comparison between the state of nature and the state that he
describes. This comparison is that both states lead to overall unhappiness. For this reason Wolf presents the idea of indirect utilitarianism where some laws are necessarily to be obeyed for the
general happiness in long-term. Furthermore, Wolf extends the idea
of Benthams theory and talks about how laws should be repealed and replaced if they fail to serve the proper utilitarian function. Then, he justifies the State as a mechanism through this argument. However, he explains various reasons why this isnt the case. He explains that the State and the State of Nature are not the only solutions, he explains that even though the state provides happiness, this happiness isnt always a consequence of a morally correct action.
Moreover, Wolf describes that the problem of
immorality will lead to grave injustice and describes it as the
scapegoat argument.
He concludes that this injustice, if not
noticeable, will not harm society and thus utilitarianism calculus.
Finally, he concludes that utilitarianism isnt enough to justify the state even in its direct form.