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Utility and Democracy - The Political Thought of Jeremy Bentham (Paperback)
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Utility and Democracy - The Political Thought of Jeremy Bentham (Paperback)
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Utility and Democracy is the first comprehensive historical account
of the political thought of Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), the
philosopher and reformer. Philip Schofield draws on his extensive
knowledge of Bentham's unpublished manuscripts and original printed
texts, and on the new, authoritative edition of The Collected Works
of Jeremy Bentham. A compelling narrative charts the way in which
Bentham applied his utilitarian philosophy to the rapidly changing
circumstances of his age.
Schofield begins with a lucid account of Bentham's insights in the
fields of logic and language, and in particular his theory of real
and fictitious entities, which lie at the foundation of his
thought. He proceeds to show how these insights brought Bentham to
the principle of utility, which led him in turn to produce the
first systematic defense of democracy from a utilitarian
perspective. In contrast to previous scholarship, which claims that
Bentham's "conversion" or "transition" to political radicalism took
place either at the time of the French Revolution or following his
meeting with James Mill in 1808 or 1809, Professor Schofield shows
that the process began in or around 1804 when the notion of
sinister interest emerged in Bentham's thought. Bentham appreciated
that rulers, rather than being motivated by a desire to promote the
greatest happiness of those subject to them, aimed to promote their
own happiness, whatever the overall cost to the community.
In his constitutional writings of the 1820s, which he addressed to
"all nations professing liberal opinions," Bentham argued that the
proper end of constitutional design was to maximize official
aptitude and minimize government expense, and that the publicity of
official actions, within the context of a republican system of
government where sovereignty lay in the people, was the means to
achieve it. Bentham's commitment to radical reform led him to
advocate the abolition of the British monarchy and House of Lords,
the replacement of the Common Law with a codified system of law,
and the "euthanasia" of the Anglican Church.
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