This audiobook changed my mind about utilitarianism. In my college years, I was a fan of utilitarianism. Now, I’m a little soured on it. I still have great respect for some of John Stuart Mill’s arguments, such as the need for a “marketplace of ideas,” and free competition between these ideas in that marketplace. But his utilitarian ideas, the ideas for which John Stuart Mill is best known, are no longer very appealing to me. It’s because of this audiobook that I changed my mind about these ideas, and came to see them as inadequate and unconvincing.
John Stuart Mill
This audiobook starts by talking about prior utilitarian thinkers, such as Jeremy Bentham and James Mill – the father of John Stuart Mill. All of them were critics of the theory of “natural rights.” To these three men, rights were defensible for other reasons, such as promoting the general good of society. I will get more into that idea later on. For now, suffice it to say that I had read “On Liberty” itself before listening to this audiobook. I had even read John Stuart Mill’s “Utilitarianism” before listening to this audiobook. I was then a fan of both of these books, because I liked the idea that morality could be made more objective. But, even then, I was uneasy about some of Mill’s attacks on natural rights, and had discussed some of Mill’s other ideas with my philosophy professor. The philosophy professor, who taught my ethics class, was a major critic of utilitarianism. I listened to the professor’s arguments with an open mind, but remained unconvinced at that time.
John Stuart Mill
Later on, I listened to this audiobook, which talked somewhat about Mill’s work “Utilitarianism.” Obviously, the major focus of the work was on the earlier work “On Liberty,” and gives some biography of John Stuart Mill himself. They made some of the same arguments that my professor had made, but then added a few of their own. If all ethical decisions are to be based on the “general good,” then what happens if I wear a shirt that no one else likes? Am I psychologically “harming” them enough that they have the “right” to prevent me from wearing it? To me, this suggested a degree of control over minutiae that was terrifying. It seemed to increase the scope of government involvement in one’s personal decisions, allowing them to control every major detail of one’s life – and many of the minor ones as well.
John Stuart Mill
Utilitarians often respond that there is a distinction between act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. “Rule utilitarians” believe that we should only support those rules whose universal adoption would increase the general good of society. Indeed, this is the version of utilitarianism that had once appealed to me in my college years. But rule utilitarianism often seems to collapse into act utilitarianism, since it prescribes acts at the individual level that seem to promote the “general good.” “Act utilitarians” believe that we should perform any action that increases the general good. But this seems to sacrifice individual rights to nebulous notions of the “common good,” which is difficult to calculate anyway. I once admired utilitarianism, because it seemed to suggest a more precise standard for determining the ethical value of an act. But I now have serious reservations about this, since I believe that individual rights – and, in particular, minority rights – are more important than the collective good. Even if a minority individual (like Socrates) offends society, he (or she) should still be allowed to speak out against majority trends and opinions. I had heard some of these arguments before, but was more convinced by them this time around.
I don’t pretend to be giving the definitive treatment on this subject, since this is just a brief blog post that can only introduce people to the various arguments. But I credit this audiobook with changing my mind on this subject, and helping me to come to a more reliable standard of ethical decision-making. (Incidentally, this audiobook is also coupled with another audiobook about Mary Wollstonecraft’s “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.” This is also a good audiobook, and I review it here for anyone who is interested.)
If you liked this post, you might also like:
Part of the audiobook series
The Giants of Political Thought
John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty
Others to be covered later
See also the audiobook series
The United States Constitution
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