Tot al Ut i l i t y
an d
t he
E c on o mi c
Ju d gme n t
C omp are d wi t h
t he i r
E t hi c al C ou n t e rp art s
A D I S S E R TATI O N
F A C U LT " O F B R " N M A W R
C O L L E G E FO R T H E D E G R EE O F D O C T O R
O F P H ILO S OP H "
P R E S E NT E D T O T H E
M A R I O N PA RR I S
HI L A D EL PH IA
T H E JO H N C W I NS T O N C O
P
.
1 909
C O P " R I G HT,
1
90 9
MA R I O N P A R R IS
C O N TE N TS
CH A P TE R I
I N T RO DU C TIO N
CH A P TE R I I
TH E
CHA P TE R I I I
.
.
CO N C EPT
T OTAL U TI L IT"
OF
U TI L IT "
A N D TH E
I N
.
E N GL I S H E T H I C S
E CO N O M I C J U DG M E N T
.
.
CHA P T E R I
I N T R OD U C T IO N
.
.
The gen eral obj e ct o f this study i s to set forth the organi c
connection betwe en certain concept s appearing as integral parts
o f modern eth i cal and e conomi c theory an d to in di cate s eve ral
po ints o f s imil arity in the logical p rocesse s whi ch they involve
Th e po sition o f th e person who d raw s anal ogie s between two
sci ences o r two fiel ds o f human thought o r who ass ert s par al
l el i sm s an d i dentiti es i s on e of p e cul iar di fficulty
N ot o nly are
th e r e s eparate fields to cove r an d separat e philosophi cal an d
c ritical poi nt s o f vi ew to con side r b ut th e d i fficult i e s o f t ermi n
ology are great Th e sam e wo rds ar e o ften u se d i n di ff erent
subj e ct s with a d i fferent connotation o r te rms u s e d i n on e
science i n a sp ec ial i se d s ens e a re o ften m isl eading o r m ean ing
l es s i n anoth e r connection Thi s i s esp eci ally true with respect
to ethic al a n d e conomi c te rmi nology wh e re su ch wo rd s as
“
”
“
”
“
valu e
wo rt h
i nte rest an d m any othe r s r ece ive i n e ach
scien c e a speci al is ed an d t echnical m ean ing
N ev e rthel es s i t i s ne cessary at all pe riods o f specul ative thi nk
ing to point out li k e ne ss es as well as d i ffe rence s ; to emph asis e
grounds i n common as w ell as spe cial ise d characte ristics ; and
last o f all to apply metho d s foun d to b e f ru it ful i n on e fiel d o f
investigat ion to anoth e r i n hopes o f attaining n ew o r sugge stive
results I t i s th i s latte r point wh ich I w i sh to emphasis e A n al
ogie s an d parallel ism s b etwe en E thics an d E conom ics m ay be
multipl ied ad l i b i t u m They w i l l al ways b e sugge stive fo r i ll u s
t rat i on an d exampl e bu t as such have an expl anato ry rathe r
than a s ci entifi c o r d efinitive val u e B ut in th e cou rse o f s p ecu
lative thinking in th e ni neteenth centu ry a s ubj e ctive fiel d o f
inqui ry was Opened u p to th e pol itical economi st A subj e ctive
si d e o f modern e conom ic s has be en definitely fo rmulate d i n th e
study of the S ubj ect iv e F acto r i n t h e dete rm inat ion o f value ; viz
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41 5 6 8 1 5
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T O T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECONO M I C J U DGM EN T
6
.
th e natu re o f the subj ect who val u e s as Opp osed to the O bj ect ive
F actor o r obj e ct val ued an d th e relation betwe en the s ciences
o f E thi cs and E conomics has becom e a fundam ental an d organi c
one C e rtain prob l ems cam e to be separat ed off from th e prob
l ems o f c on duct i n general an d cons ide red as specifically e co
nomi c ; su ch as th e mot ives an d l aw s o f e conomi c activity e s
i n val uation th e l aws o f th e m utation o f p rice an d th e
t i on o f demand H e nc e in the subj ect matte r o f mode rn
ethical s peculation the p sychologi cal principles whi ch are ad
mi t t e d as gr ounds for th e variou s fo rms o f human activity such
a s the W i ll I nstinct H ab i t etc become o f th e utmost impor
tanc e to th e econom i c stu dent who adm i ts th e subj ective facto r
i n su ch phenomena as Valu e P rice D eman d a n d S upply
d to day i n all t reati ses o n theoreti cal e conomics s chol ar s
adm i t this F acto r A n acco unt o f th e natur e o f human wants
p rec edes ex p os t fact o all formul ation s o f econom ic l aws an d al l
groupi ngs o f economi c ph enom ena E conomi cs is regarded as
a s c i ence th at h as a subj ect ive as w ell as an obj ective fiel d o f
1
inve s tigation
Th e Obj ects d esi red fo rm th e subj ect mat t er o f
the latte r ; th e des i ring subj ect the ph enomenon for investiga
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st u dy an d an alysi s of t he s u b j e c tiv e f ac t or has c l ai me d e sp e ci al
att e n ti on f r om t h e g r ou p of s ch ol ar s i n mor e or l e ss c l os e c onn ec ti on
with t he A u st ri an S ch ool
F oll o wi n g G o ss en an d K ar l M en g e r s ge n
e r al f or mu l ati on of t h e L aws of W an t w e h av e a s er i e s of l ogi c al an d
psy ch ol ogi cal st u di e s i n t he con ce pts of v al u e an d t h e ph en omen a o f
w an t an d d e si re The mov eme n t or igi n at e d with B r en t ano s Psy ch ol ogi e
v om E m p e r i s ch e n
S t an dp u n kt
T his w as f oll ow e d i n 1 89 3 by E h r en
f e l s W e rt ht h e ori e u n d E thik 1 893 an d S yst em d e r We rt hth e ori e
1 89 4 ; by M e i n on g s
Psy ch ol ogis ch e e this ch e U n t e r s u ch u n g en z u r W er th
”
o
th e r i e 1 894 an d D as B e dii rfn i s by O sk ar Kr au s i n 1 89 4 M or e
r e ce n tly K re i b i g has p u blish e d his Psy ch ol ogis ch e G ru n dl egu n g e i n es
S yst e ms d e r W e rt ht h e ori e
Psy ch ol ogi e de s Wil
a nd S c hw ar z
l e n s z u r G ru n dl egu n g der E thik 1 90 0 Cu hel s " u r L e h r e v on den
B e d u rfn i s s e n app e ar e d i n 1 9 0 7
Th e l att e r w or k i s an e xh au stiv e an alysis
o f t h e v ar i ou s c on ce pts app e ari n g u n d e r t h e g e n e r al titl e W an t
( B e dii rf
nis )
th u s c l eari ng t h e way for a th or ou gh e x ami n ati on of t h e f und a
m en t al id e as whi c h u n d er li e t h e v ar i ou s d e fin iti on s of w an t d e si r e will
etc
i n th e i r e con omi c r e l a ti on t o t h e th e or i e s of v al u e
The
1
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I N T ROD U C T IO N
7
.
o f th e fo rm e r Wants and desi re s have b een cl assified ; th e
sequenc e o f th ei r appearance i n con sci ousn ess has be en obs e rved ,
and certain l aws O f want s h ave b een fo rmul a t e d to account fo r
Th e stu dy o f Wan t
t he fi rs t impul s e toward economi c a ctivity
( B edii rfn i s ) i s in de e d th e latest c h apter i n th e th eory o f e co
nomi c rel ations
A ll m odern schol ars on the subj ect e mph asi s e th e fact that
this b ranch O f econom ic investigation i s mo st closely alli e d to
the s cie nc e o f psychology : i n fact that it i s a spe ci al provin ce
i n th e domai n o f p sychologi cal re search The sequence o f w ant s
thei r vari ety intens ity an d extent th e action o f the wi l l on t he;
envi ronment to s ati s fy des i re are al l facts wh i ch have a dete r
min ing i nflu enc e on economi c phenom en a but are p rop e rly re cog
n i s e d as act iviti e s o f th e funct i o n ing s el f
an d a s su ch are p s y
The relation betwe en th e S ubj ective
chol ogi cal man i festation s
F acto r i n t h e oreti cal eco nomics an d t h e mo re gen eral s ci ence o f
psyc h ical activity o r psychology i s un doubte dly cl early defined
E conomi cs take s from psych ology cert ai n gene r al p rin cipl e s of
human activity an d pro ceeds to i n vestigate th e ope rat ion o f
su ch p rin cipl e s i n i ts own S p ecial fi el d Th e point that i s
so di stinctly recogni s ed i s th e rel ation betw een th e S ubj ective
F acto r i n econom i c th eo ry an d t h e s ci en ce o f e t h ics and t h e
significanc e fo r E conomi c s o f th e as sum ptions an d logical pro
ce sses whi ch fo rm the basis o f ethical re asoning I f p sychology
investigate s th e ph enomen a O f th e fun ctioning s el f ethi cs
v e s t i gat e s t he goal toward wh ich hum an activity i s impell ed
move an d endeavors to fo rm ul ate a theo ry o f th e end i n vi
o f Wh ic h al l t h e activity m aking u p h uman l i fe i s regard ed
“
”
the me an s
The human being de s i ring th e obj ect A i s a p s y
c hol o i cal phenom enon
in truth th e es sen ce o f on e o f th e most
g
“
compl i cated chapte rs in th e sc i en ce o f psychology
Th e human
b eing acting upon oute r natu re to sati s fy th e desi re for obj e ct
“
A is agai n th e e s sen c e O f th e econom i c proce ss
T he reason
”
why t h e h um an b eing desi res A an d not B C o r D i n othe r
word s the r el ati on O f des ir e A to oth er d esi re s an d its pl ace
i n the total sum o f de si re s i s t h e p robl em O f ethi c s Wheth e r
t ion
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T O T AL U T I LI T Y AND T H E ECONO M I C J U DG M EN T
8
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thi s total i s natu ral i stical ly expl ai ned as the working out o f the
blind forces o f n ature through the s u rviving spe ci es o r as an
ide al becoming expli c i tly expresse d i n consciousnes s dep ends
on th e ethi cal point o f vi ew The expl ana tion i s ethi cal wh en
it relates a human being to hi s cosmos ; o r explains h i s action i n
vi ew o f i t s end
M odern economi c th eo ry makes many such co smi cal asse rtion s
in the di s cus sions o f Total Ut i lity as the sum o f ou r known w ants
o r o f scal es o f want s ; an d i n d i scu ss i on s o f m easure s o f val ue as
M argin al Utilit ies wh i ch im p ly a stan dard or i d e al to wh ich mar
I n fact th e whol e theory o f val ua tion
gi n al ut i l i ti e s are re ferred
developed by t h e A ustrian S chool and derive d ultim ately from
G os s en s studi es o f th e variety and s at i ability o f want s i s ess en
t i al l y th e cal culation O f l ea s t u rgent want s over again s t all pos sibl e
wan t s i n any person o r group o f pe rs on s an d as su ch is t el eo
logical i n m ethod an d ethi cal in n atu re I t ne eds only certai n
rearrangement and specification i n t erminology to b e brought in
l in e with the whol e i dealisti c t rend o f et h ical thinking
The subj ective factor i n e conomi c theory woul d th us se em
to b e a b ranch o f the science o f psychology ; and i n the dete r
mi nat i on o f th e en d to be a part o f ethics and thu s to b e in th e
embarras s i ng position o f ha ving struggl ed for th e pos se ssion
of a
F i eld o f I nqu iry wh i ch in reality belongs to oth e r science s
That this i s not the ca s e w e shall endeavo r to m ake cl ear in
th e c ou rse o f thi s s tu dy
F rom th e ve ry subj ective obj ective
character o f economi c ph enom en a the subj ective facto r o f want
or deman d in e v ery j udgm ent o f val uation i s in functional rela
t i on w i th s ome part o f th e wo rl d o f supply T his f unctional
relationship gives to th e subj e ctive factor a characte ri sti c o f its
o w n whi ch i s not pu rely psy c h ological though a man i festation
o f th e sel f a s funct i oning and wh i ch i s not pu rely ethical though
it can b e val ued only with r espect to the en d I t is an expres
s ion O f want a s rel ated to th e worl d o f l imited supply o f the d e
c e o f the sel f on t he worl d o f goods and as such exp res s es
y e con om i c relationship B oth psychology an d ethics may
he la w s o f human a c t i v ity a s expende d on or a ffected by
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I N T R OD U CT IO N
9
.
e conomi c good s an d s e rv ice s Th ey m ay al so fo r th e pu rpos es
o f analys e s regard t h e sel f a s abst racte d f rom th e phenomen al
wo rld E conom ics h oweve r r egards ma n i n on e rel ation only
that o f dep enden ce upon ce rtai n obj ective fa cto rs whi ch are
calle d economic com moditie s
B ut thoug h th e fiel ds i nve stigate d by thes e t h re e s ci ence s o f
human activiti e s are quite di stin ct theo reti cal economi cs en cou n
te rs p robl ems sim il ar to tho s e i nvestigated by th e psych ologist
an d th e mo ral i st N ot th e least impo rtant o f these are certai n
gre at points o f cont rove rsy which from tim e to time h av e spl it
“
”
the ranks o f th e moral i sts i nto Opposi ng s chool s
Th e s e ar e
i n gen e ral probl ems d e al ing wi th t he motive impel ling t o an y
act th e n at u re o f th e e n d to b e obtaine d by th e act an d the
n atu re o f the c riterion fo r j u dging wheth e r th e m ean s w il l fu r
th e r the en d I n w hateve r t erm s thes e p roble ms o f hum an ac
t i v i t y are inte rp rete d to expl ain c on duct i n gen eral th e s am e
term s m ay b e u se d to expl ai n econom i c con duct in part i cul ar
“
”
“
T h e fo rmul ation o f th e law s o f wan t o r l aws o f s ens i
”
bili ty whi ch s e rve to day as th e p syc h ologi c al poi nt o f depart
ur e fo r m os t o f ou r eco nomi c reasoni ng gradu ally ca me t o
assum e it s p resent form in the las t h al f o f the n ineteenth cen
tu ry A t th e sam e time a gr eat con fl i ct b etwee n antagoni st ic
mod e s o f thought was remoul ding eth i cal con cept s fo r the E ng
l is h speaking wo rld T hi s cont rove rsy was re flecte d i n th e cu r
rent discu ss ions as to th e l aw s o f e conom ic activity an d coloure d
to a great degre e th e fo rm ul ation o f th e s ubj ective facto r
I n the domain o f ethi cal spe cul ation i n the E ngl i sh speaking
worl d two great ri ve rs o f theo ry m et an d inte rmin gl ed i n the
l ast fou r decad es o f th e n in eteenth c entu ry so that fo r a t im e
all S harp d i sti nction s an d cl ea r cut categorie s se em ed lost i n th ei r
troubl e d w ate rs The slende r stream o f i deal i stic th inking pe r
sisting in E ngl is h ethic s from th e C amb ridge Platoni sts o f the
seventeenth centu ry was m ight ily rein fo rce d by an inte re st i n
metaphysic s awakened by the G e r man po st Kantian ideal i sts
The revival o f an i deal i stic i nte rp retation o f l i fe beginn i ng with
C ol e ridge and C a rlyl e fou n d its na ti ve expres sion an d E ngl i s h
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TO T AL UT I LI T Y
1 0
A N D TH E
ECONO M I C J U DGM EN T
.
exponents in the eth i cal w ritings o f Mart i ne au an d G reen ; an d
i ts full expr es sion t o day i n th e works O f M ui rh ead B osanqu et
and F H B radl ey Thi s pos i t ive bo dy o f E n gl i s h i deal i s t i c
t hought h owever strengthene d by the i nfluen ce o f the G erman
ph ilosophe rs was i nd i genous
I t h ad pe r s i s ted fo r two c en
F or though
t u ri es in t h e fa c e o f a mo s t red oubtabl e antagoni st
th e t ren d o f ethi cal i deal i sm h ad been m ai ntaine d from H enry
M o re an d L o rd H erb ert O f C he rbu ry th r ough S haft esbu ry
H utchi nson an d the S cottish I n tu i tional S chool th e m a i n body
o f E ngl i s h eth i cs had rem a i ned si nc e H obb es stoutly natu ral
B ut Util itar i an Th eory its el f
i s t i c and ut i litarian in character
rep resenting as i t di d th e d omin ant a n d positiv e ethi cal i n t erp re
t at i on had departed o f n ec es sity f rom its s eventeenth century
po sition and i n the two centu r i es foll owing H obb es h ad be en
p roce eding al ong l ine s th at woul d have l ed eventu ally to its own
n egation a s may b e see n i n stu dying i ts fate i n th e h ands o f
J oh n St uart M ill A t a criti cal moment how eve r it rec eived
i ncalcul abl e s trength f rom the body o f evoluti on ary doctrin e
”
wh i ch followe d the publ i cation o f th e O r i gin o f Spe cie s i n
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85 9
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I t was thu s agai nst util itariani sm rein fo rce d by th e eth ics o f
evol ution that E ngl ish i deal i sm h ad to contend I n th e contro
v e rs y whi ch raged i n the f o rty years wh ich followe d D arwin s
great wo rk th e entren ched party i n E ngli sh ethi cs still con
“
”
tended for th e greatest sum o f pl e as u re w hi ch however only
“
th e fit co ul d sur v ive to attain
wh i l e the encroaching party i n
“
”
the pe r s on s o f th e i deali sts decl ared a sum o f pl easu re u m
thinkabl e an d u nreal i sabl e and h el d t h e en d o f a l l pu rposi ve con
“
”
duct to b e th e real i s at i on O f s el f an A ri stot el ian concept re
v i v i fi e d by H egel
mp oran eou s with the inte rest in ethi cal and p hiI O S Op hi c
probl ems was an e ra o f gr eat specul ative activity in econom ic
s c i ence as vital t o cl ear th i nking as th e cont rove rs i e s b etween
Ut i l i tari an i s m an d I deal i sm o r th e m ooted question as to the
“
antagon i sm bet w een s cienc e an d rel i gion
By th e very sub
j e ct matter ho w e v er i t w as n ot so adapted to popul ar rep re
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I N T ROD U C T IO N
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s en t at i on
i n pulpit an d n ewspap er an d h en c e i s not so intimat ely
int e rwov e n i n c u rr e nt thought
This controve rsy o r rath er s eri e s o f inqui ri es revolved abo u t
the que stion as to wh e re th e fun damental s o f e conomic s cien ce
shoul d be sought ; wh eth er obj e ctively i n th e ph enomen a o f
wealt h capital an d natu ral ly s carce obj ects ; o r subj ectively i n
the w ants n ec e ssitie s an d n atu re o f m an Th e sci enc e o f E co
momie s whi ch h as com e to b e t h e more tech n ical n ame for the
“
”
earl i e r d es cript ive study c all e d Pol itical E conomy h as follow e d
much th e cou rs e o f util itari an ethi cs I n th e early descriptive
days o f the scienc e emphas i s w as l aid on th e external Ob j ecti ve
“
s id e ; on good s exchange abl e articl e s on th e Wealth o f N a
”
tions
Fin ding a description o f the interch ange o f commo diti es
inadequ ate to accou nt fo r th e l aw s o f w ealth an d th e facts of
value a n atu rali sti c pleasu r e pain p sychology w as early ass um e d
refle ct ed as i t w ere from th e domin ant eth ical s chool wh i ch i s
exempl ified i n th e Th eo ry o f Val ue as L abou r o r P ain T hi s
natu ral isti c psychology i s foun d impl i cit i n A dam S mith and i s
“
”
expl icitly stated by his su cc es so rs i n th e cl assi cal s chool
B ut
it p rove d more an d mo re u nsati s factory as m en cam e to h ave a
wi de r knowl e dg e o f e conom i c facts an d as m or e an alyti cal i n
“
”
economic n atu re
The
v es t i gat i on s w e re m ade as to m an s
L abou r Th eo ry o f Val u e carrie d wit h it th e germs o f its own
di ssol ution as did th e anal ogou s Util itarian Theo ry o f C ondu ct
in eth i cs ; an d in the cou rs e o f it s d evelopm ent engen dere d a
body o f exc e ption s to i ts own l aw s o f su ch m agnitu de that J evon s
in a singl e wo rk t ran s ferre d th e fun damental s o f the s c i ence
from a Th eo ry o f C osts cal culate d in obj ective te rms a s L abou r
C o st s and C ap ital C osts to the po sition o f a no rmative as w e
shal l call i t l ate r an ideal i stic s ci en c e by w h ich the wo rth o f a
stock o f goods o r o f any p art o f a sto ck m igh t b e cal cul ated by
means o f subj ective valuation s call ed F in al Util ities C u riously
enough th e same r eve rsive step was taken ind epend entl y by th e
G erm an econom i st G ossen an d was late r ampl ified i nto t he body
o f theory whi ch bear s th e n ame Of th e A u stri an S c h ool A n d
agai n at a c ritical mom ent E ngl i s h theory was rein fo rc ed by th e
fruits o f G e rm an specul ation
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TO T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DG M EN T
.
’
I n the e ra whi ch followe d J evons work th e whole t rend o f
econom i c d i scus sion centere d about the appl ication o f a subj e e
“
”
tive o r M arg i nal theo ry o f val u e The theo ry still clung t o
a natu ral pl easure pai n psychology as a hy poth esi s and qu es
t i ons as to how a s um o f total w el l being o r Total Util ity can b e
”
“
cal culate d from separate increm ents o f s atis faction borrowed
di rectly in t erminology and argument f rom the an alogo us dis
”
“
raging i n
s u m o f pl easu r e
c u s s i on as to th e pos sibility o f a
the fiel d o f eth i cs
N O stu dent o f the contemporary literatu re in th es e subj ects
can b e unaware that the controvers ies an d dis cu s sions thu s
briefly i ndi cat ed occup i e d th e attention o f eth i cal an d e conomi c
s cholars until th e last deca d e o f th e ni net eenth century Th e m as s
2
o f a rgum ent put fo rth in the scientific j ou rnal s from 1 860 1 89 0
give s evidence s o f th e u nsettl ed state O f both s ci en ces ; how ill
defined were th eir respective fiel ds and ho w f ar from agree
ment we re scholars as to th e fun damental s I s m an a natural
i s t i c being an idea l ist i c b e i ng o r both " I s th e end which he
s eeks to att ai n a s um o f pl easu re an ideal o f pe r fe ct ion o r a
modification o f the two concept s " D oes h e valu e a goo d f rom
th e l abou r co st o r ab stinenc e which its p ro duction n ec es sitated
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typi cal e x ampl e s of th e s e dis cu ssi on s s ee Th e U tilit ar i an
O u ght
by E G u rn e y M i n d VI I ( ol d s er i e s ) ; Pl e as u re P ai n D e si r e
F H B r adl e y M i n d X I I I ( ol d s er i e s ) ; The L ogi c of
an d V oliti on
W M it ch e l l M i n d X V ( ol d s e r i e s ) ; The I d e a
t h e E thi c s o f E v o l u ti on
o f V al u e
S A l e x an d er M i n d I ( n ew s e r i e s ) ; The H e d on i c C al cu l u s
”
"
E dgw or th M i n d I I I ( n e w s er i e s ) ; Can T h e r e B e a S u m of Pl e as u r e
H R as h del l M i n d VI I I ( n ew s er i e s ) an d The C ommen s u r ability O f al l
V al u e s M i n d X I ( n e w s er i e s ) ; H e d on is m amon g t he I d e alists B
B os an qu e t M i n d X I I ( n e w s e ri e s ) ; Th e R e l ati on b e tw een E thi c s an d
ac k en zi e
I
n t e rn at i o
S
M
c
m
J
;
M
”
T h e or y O f V al u e an d Its Pl ace i n E thi c s C G S h aw I n t e rn ati onal
”
"
J ou rn al of E thi c s X I ; Is Pl e as u r e t h e S u mmu m B onu m
A S e th
I n t e rn ati on al J ou rnal of E thi c s VI H e don w
p ret at i on of S u b
~ ee t iv e V al u e
H W S-m ar t J ou rn al of P oliti cal E conomy IV ; W ealth
j
an d WW
A S t u d yT
A n n al s of A me r i can
I TSu b j ec t i v e E c on om i c s
A cad emy " I I ; Phil os ophi cal B asi s of E con omi cs S S h e r w ood A nn al s
m
o f A me r i c an A c ad e my X
2
For
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I N T R OD U C T IO N
I3
.
or from a subj e ctive calcul ation o f th e intens ity o f th e want felt
fo r it ; o r a m ingling o f both factors " Th es e are typ es o f ques
tions familiar to all student s o f mo de rn ethic s and e co nomi cs
and indi cat e the presen ce o f s eve ral antagoni sti c syst em s
though t
B ut i t i s e qu ally evi dent th at s in ce 1 89 0 an d certai nly w ith in
the la st ten years th es e qu estion s have ce ase d to b e vital with in
the domain o f thei r re spective subj ects I n ethi cs th e i deali sti c
point o f vi ew with certai n definite mod ification s ow ing to th e
wid en ed knowledge O f th e data o f hum a n experience Opened up
by expe rim ental psychology has steadily gain ed asc endency
over th e olde r an d c rude r Ut ilitari an ism Thought and i nv e s
t i gat i on has tu rn e d to th e detail ed an d analyti cal stu die s o f the
elements o f ethi cal l i fe ; the function o f the emotio n s an d th e
pas sion s ; th e mani fe station s o f the will an d analysi s o f t he
et h i cal j udgm ent
I n the sphe re o f e conomi cs even mo r e notice ably than i n
ethics the attention O f s t u den t s has pass ed from th e mo re gen eral
t h eoretical aspects o f th e s ci ence to th e investigation o f spe cial
ph enom ena Th e attitude o f th e maj o ri ty o f economi st s to day
i s to apply ce rtai n th eo reti cal p rincipl e s to the m as s o f fact p re
sented by the present indust rial conditions an d advan ces i n
theory are confine d i n mo st p art to imp rovement s i n m ethod
whethe r histo ri cal stati stic al or logi cal "Th e i nvestigations
which certai n G e rman and A u strian eco nom i sts are carrying on
as to t h e logi cal an d p sychologi cal proc e sse s i nvol ved in acts o f
valuation an d concepts o f val ue h ave b een fo r th e m o st part
critical an d destru ctive A ny S ingl e con st ru ctive p rinc ipl e u pon
whi ch to un i fy th e se stu die s is l ac king an d so th ei r wo rk h as
up to this t ime had l ittl e modi fying e ffe ct on econom i c theo ry i n
general ; m o reove r thei r wo rk i s not wid ely known to th e E ng
3
li s h sp e aking wo rl d
Th e theo reti c p rincipl e s u pon whi ch mo st
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P rof e ss or Wilb u r M U r b an o f T r i n ity C oll e g e H ar tf or d has con
t r ib u t e d a nu mb er of most ill u mi n ati n g cr iti cal e ss ays on mod ern th eor i e s
of v al u e an d t h e w or k o f th e s e G e r m an s c h ol ar s t o t h e v ar i ou s phil os oph
i cal j ou rn al s
N ot e : Th e R e l ati on of t he I n divid u al t o t he S oci a l Va l u e
3
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1
T O T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECONO M I C J U DG M EN T
4
.
o f modern econom i c i nve s tigation rests S eem s to be in general
the th eory o f val ue wh ich has b een most ful ly developed by t h e
A u s t rian S chool w h en th ei r con cept o f M arginal Util ity as th e
m easu re o f valu e i s duly con nected with the cl assi cal C o s t
Theory o f Value by Pro fesso r M arshall s famou s analogy o f th e
”
pa i r o f S h ear s an d when th e t heory i s ampl ified o n the si de
“
”
o f D istribution by Pro fessor C lark s functional theory o r P ro
fe s s or H ob son s Th eory o f C oll ective B argaining
I t may be th at w e ar e too near th e revolutionary an d fo r
mat i v e p eriod o f s peculative th inking in the latter hal f o f th e
n ineteenth century to est i mate how far th e th eoreti c spi rit has
carrie d u s o r to app reciate what fo rm it h as assumed I t i s
possibl e al so th at th e pres ent po sition o f e conomi c th eo ry i s a
tentative on e ; a breathing spa c e as it w ere be fore s torming
th e next theo retic fastn es s I t provides u s w ith a fai rly c on
v en i e n t set o f p rin c i pl es fo r i nte rpreting th e al most overwh elm
ing mass o f mo dern economic and i ndu stri al ph enomena ; b ut
”
it m ay give way be fore som e future m ast er economi st who
w ill fit more i llumi nati ng categori e s to the increas ed knowl edge
o f econom i c fact an d w ill bring to another sc ience a C ope rn i can
”
Revolutio n
M eanwhile i t cannot but b e val u abl e fo r cl ear thin king to
re exam ine the as sumption s upon whi ch curre nt e conomic th eo ry
rest s i n light o f th e parall el i sm o f its development with that o f
mode rn E ngl i sh ethi cs and to co rrel at e th e body o f theo ry
x pl ai ning econom i c proces se s as formulate d by the A u stri an
e
S chool and thei r I tal ian E ngl i sh an d A me ri can repre sentat ives
wi t h th e theory o f cond u ct found i n mod ern E ngli sh ethics A
“
secondary obj ect o f th is study i s to formul ate th e s o calle d S ub
”
j ect i v e F acto r in modern e conom ic theo ry whi ch means the
t heory o f motivation whi ch has been a s sum ed to account fo r
economi c activity We are con cerned e s pecially with the con cept
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S eri e s
”
Phil os ophi c al R evi e w 1 90 2 The C on s c i ou s n e ss o f V al u e P s y
ch ol og i c al R evi e w
1 90 2 ;
R e cen t T e n d en ci e s i n t he Psy ch ol ogi cal T h eor y
of V al u e
Psy c h ol ogi cal R evi e w IV ; D e fin iti on an d A n alysis of t he
C on s c i ou s ne ss of Val u e Psych ol ogi cal R evi e w 1 90 7
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I N T ROD U C T IO N
I5
.
o f en d to b e attai ne d th e Total wheth er o f goo ds o r sati s
faction wh ich i s regar de d as the obj ective po i nt fo r wh i c h any
economic p ro cess is un dertaken : an d the natu re o f t he econom i c
j ud gm ent which i s the keynot e to the modern theo rie s o f val u e
We shall compare the form i n whi ch we fin d th es e con cept s i n
current econom ic th eory with thei r an alogo us con cepts in ethi cs :
th e ethi cal end o r i deal whi ch any act ten ds to real i s e ; an d t h e
eth ical j u d gment o f wo rth an d app roval wh i ch m eas u res e ac h act
w it h vi e w to the e n d
I n o rde r to make thi s comp ari son w e m ust have cl early in
min d the ethi cal concept s O f en d criterion an d j u dgment to which
th e econom i c forms co rre spond B ut mo de rn ethi cal t h eo ry as w e
have s uggest ed pas se d t h rough certain w el l define d ph ases be fo r e
assuming its p re sent fo rm an d i n th e cou rs e o f its developm ent
encou ntere d certai n logi cal d i fficulti es an d fall aci e s e specially
i n th e B enthamite p e riod o f Util itari an is m th e solving o f wh ich
engende re d a body o f argument whi ch remain s to day a val u able
tool to us e i n attacking l i ke fall acies in other fiel ds The firs t p art
o f thi s stu dy then will b e a b ri e f h istori cal outl in e o f th e devel
op men t o f th e dom inant s c h ool o f et h i c s i n E ngl an d
from it s
formulat ion a fte r the work o f H obbe s i n the seve nte ent h century
throug h its utilitari an de velopment i n th e fi rst h al f o f th e n i ne
t e ent h c entu ry We shall in di cate th e gradual working away from
its o riginal hypothe si s through a s eri es o f fall acie s an d as s u mp
tions u ntil it w as free d from th e remnants o f its o rigin al natural
ism by the more m etaphysical and i d eal isti c form ulat ion o f ethical
theory com ing in w ith th e ni neteenth centu ry philosoph i cal
Renaissance E thics as the ol de r an d more s ubj ective s tudy con
s i dere d ce rtai n p robl ems o f human condu ct
an d embodi e s in its
l iteratu re both anci ent an d m ode rn ce rtain arguments conc epts
and l ogi cal fo rm s which econom ics as th e younge r an d mo re
obj ective s ci en ce h a s b een slo w to recogn i se but wh ich a re o f th e
utmost conse qu ence to day i n fo rmul ating th e subj ective p ri n
c i p l e s whi ch u nde rli e economi c th eory
Thes e s am e p robl em s appea r i n mode rn l i fe clothed i n anoth e r
terminology The great extent o f i ndu st rial and economic o rgani
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T O T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M IC J U DG M EN T
6
.
sation which rece ived new impetu s from the improved met h ods
o f p rodu ction and th e substitution o f m ach i ne ry fo r han d labou r
i n the last h al f O f th e eighteenth centu ry has wi dened t he horizon
o f human action deepened the s en se o f human pow e r an d sh arp
ened and special i sed the j udging and valuing faculties Th e area
o f human activity is extended : and coin cidently knowledge o f the
data o f experience i s mor e exact Th e conc epts pres ented t o th e
mode rn citizen o f the industrial worl d though compl i cated an d
far reach i ng are expl icitly concret e and f ull o f content T h e
E n d which he contemplates h e p ictu res to h imsel f i n te rms o f
Cap i tal c on tr ol l ed ; the M eans to the E n d h e Ob j ect ifi es i n P r o
du c ti v e f orc es whethe r hi s own l abou r o r hi s control ov e r oth er
hum an o r natural powe rs H i s very j u dgi ng an d valuing facu l
ti es have becom e so systematis e d an d organ i se d in the formation
o f great wo rl d markets that they appear to h im not so much as
voluntary human act ivitie s but as stati stical t abl es o f market
p rices B ut the same concepts which fu rni s h ed the mental worl d
o f the G re ek philosop h e r app e ar to day as e conom i c postulates i n
the mode rn i ndustrial wo rld Th e E nd o f economi c a ctivity ; the
rn eans o f attaining it an d t h e faculty fo r j udging o r valuing the
mean s with resp ect to th e E nd ; thes e ar e the fundam ental con
c e p t s whi ch form th e subj e ct m att er o f e conomics
Th e second part o f thi s stu dy ( C hapte r I I I ) w ill b e an attempt
to formulate the S ubj ective F acto r in theoretical economic s with
regard to the th re e points al re ady i ndi cated an d to subj ec t such
concept s to a di rect com parison with th ei r ethical counterparts
with the hop e that su ch an attempt wil l not only keep f re e
economic thi nking from the con fu sion b etween natural i sm and
i deal i sm but w ill mo re clearly define th e relation o f th eo reti cal
economics to p sychology an d ethi cs
The econom ic probl em s
whi ch w e shall analyse cent e r about the concepts o f the e conomi c
E nd o r Total Uti lity ; th e economic M easure ; o r M arginal Uti l
ity and th e e conom i c J udgm ent o f Val u e I n fo rmulating t h e
e conomic j u dgment and rel ating it to othe r fo rm s o f the j udgm ent
th e intel lectual ethi c al and aesth etic j u dgment w e hope to sug
gest a possibl e canon o f di stinction wh ich may s erve to sep ar ate
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CHA PT E R I I
TH E
C ON CE P T
OF
U T I LI T Y
.
E N GLI S H ET H I C S
I N
.
hi sto ry o f E ngl i sh ut il itarianis m may b e described from
one point o f vi ew as the hist ory o f a seri es o f attempts m ade to
escap e the logical cons equen ces o f a natu rali stic ac count O f human
natu re S uch account s o f th e n atu re o f man have b een given at
various epoch s i n th e histo ry o f sp ecul at ive thi nking to account
fo r the apparently non natu ral sup ernatu ral o r sp iritual Characte r
o f consci en ce or mo ral ity i n gene ral O n e o f the most notewo rthy
o f the mo dern version s o f the e t hi cs o f n atu rali sm was fo rm ulate d
by the philosophe r H obbe s i n the s eventeenth century i n hi s
”
“
“
tre ati se on H uman N ature
in th e D e C orpo re Pol iti co
Part I O f M an I t ac cou nt s
( 1 65 0 ) and in th e L eviathan
fo r th e mo ral n atu re o f man in pa rt icul ar as w ell as hum an
p sychology i n gen eral i n physic al te rm s C on c e rning t he though ts
o f man
the o rigi nal o f the m all is th at wh i ch w e call
sense for there is no conception in a man s mi nd which hath not
at fi rst totally or by parts be en begotten upon the o rgans o f
sens e
The cau se o f sen se is t he external b ody o r obj ect
”1
whi ch p res seth th e o rgan p roper to each s ense
A ll sp i ritual o r
“
”
i ntell ectual powe rs i f not a s e eming o r a fancy are dep en dent
on phys ical factors : th e wi ll and the pas sion are described as
“
”
“
”
motions an d pressu re s
To quote a recent critic o f natu ral
“
i sm Th e p sycholo gy now associated with N atu ral ism i s essen
t i al l y the sam e as that which D emocritus i n th e anci ent worl d
and H obbes i n th e m ode rn s et f orth a s a su i tabl e outw ork o f thei r
ma t er i al i s t i c theo ry o f real ity
S en sory impression s l eave c ertain
res i dua beh i nd th em call ed ideas ; an d thes e as H um e put i t by
a kind o f att raction which i n th e m ental worl d will b e found t o
h ave as ext ra ordinary e ffects as i n t h e natu ral are hel d to give
Th e
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L evi ath an B k I Ch ap I R ou tl e dg e editi on
W R S or l ey E thi c s of N at u ralis m 2 d e diti on p
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( 1 8)
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7
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T H E CO N CE P T OF UT I LI T Y I N ENGLI S H E T H I C S
9
1
.
ris e to th e whol e conten t o f con sciou sne ss N atu ral is m i s t h u s
psychologi cal a s w ell as a cosmologi cal th eory an d may b e te ste
by the adequ acy to explai n the m in d o f man as well as by
competen cy a s an account o f the wo rl d
The account o f hum an natu re el aborate d by H obbe s gr eatl y
in flu enced the form i n wh ich n atu ral i sm appe ars in E nglis h util i
“
tari an ethics B ut b e fo re we define the term natu ral ism as i s
used i n th is paper w e mu st not e very b r i efly H obbes s naturali sti c
account o f
as givi ng th e dom inant charact eristics o f s u ch a
n t o f vi ew
H obbe s des c ribe s m an as existing origi nally an d natu r ally in
an anti soc ial non pol iti cal Stat e o f N atu re N atu re h as create d
men equal but i t i s an equal ity o f weakn e s s rath er than st rength
“
as t he w eakest has strength enough to kill th e stronge st e ithe r
”3
by s ec ret machinations o r by con fe de racy w ith oth ers
A s all
“
are e qual t h ere is no cent ral autho rity ; an d m en h ave no ple as
u re but o n th e contrary a great deal o f gri e f i n keeping comp any
”4
where the r e i s no powe r abl e to ove ra w e them al l
There are
“
”
mo r e ov e r i n t h e n atu re o f m an thre e p rin cipal cau se s o f quarrel
comp etition diffid en ce an d glory Th es e n atu ral i n stin cts l ead
“
”
men to invad e fo r gain fo r sa fety an d fo r reputation so t ha t
“
the natu ral condition o f mankind i s wa r an d s u c h a w ar i s o f
”5
e v ery man a gai nst eve ry man
T he natu ral con dition o f m an
“
kind th ere fo re i s desc ribed by H obb es as on e whe re there is no
pl ace fo r i ndustry becau se the fru it th ereo f i s u nce rtain and
consequ ently no cultu re o f th e earth no n avi gation no r u se o f
commodi ties th at m ay b e importe d by s ea no commodiou s b u i ld
ings
no account O f tim e no arts no l etters no society
and whi ch i s wo rst o f a l l continu al fe ar and danger o f viol ent
death and the l i fe o f man sol itary poo r n asty bruti sh an d
”6
short
I n the state o f natu re th e re fore nothi ng can b e un j u st
Th e noti on s o f right an d w rong j u stice an d inj u sti c e have th ere
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Bk
L evi ath an l c
“
L evi ath an l c
°
L e vi ath an l c
a
L ev i at h an
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I C h ap X I I I p
p 80
p 80
p 81
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TO T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECONO M I C J U DGM EN T
20
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no pl ace where there i s n o common powe r there is no l aw no
”7
i nj ust i ce F rau d and fo r c e are i n war th e two cardin al virtues
That i s ; i n the n atu ral condition o f mankin d i deas o f mo ral ity
j u stice law conscience moral s ens e j udgm e nts o f right an d
”
w rong have n o plac e
Th ey may H obbes admits oblige i n
f oro i n t ern o th at i s to s ay they bi nd to a de si r e they shoul d take
place ; b u t i n f or o ex t ern o that as to the putting them i n act not
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B ut H obb es described m en as h aving r eason as well as t h e
i nstincts o f fear competition an d love o f glo ry Reason points
out that th e di fficultie s o f th e p recar i ou s state O f natur e may be
avo ide d i f m en are m utu ally will i ng to give up thei r n atura l
“
rights o f war an d to con fe r all th ei r pow e r an d strength upon
that may r educe all th ei r
on e man o r one ass embly o f m en
”9
Th us the L eviath an o r
w i lls by pl u ral i ty o f voic es to on e will
sove reign i s erected by th e mutual contrac t to mai ntai n peace
an d secu re li fe and prope rty to the individu al s in th e state Th e
means whi c h the sove reign devi s es to insure internal peace and
p rotection to property i s to create i n the state th e So cial I n s t i t u
tions co des O f l aw civi l an d criminal th e i nstitution o f p rivate
p roperty th e moral code to det erm in e indivi dual con duct an d the
institut i on o f rel igion Thu s th e whol e content o f mo rality the
idea o f j ustice the moral motive an d mo ral obl igation was
regarded as something sup er i mpos e d upon the n atural man by
the L evi athan o r o rganise d civil society M an i s natu rally non
mo ral and in the state o f natu re no mo ral con si de rations woul d
obtai n M o ra l ity i s an artific e o r convent ion a me ans toward
further i ng som e soci al o r political end something devi sed by a
powe r high e r than any i n divi dual in th e state a n d i mposed on
h e i ndividuals from above
( t
L
This
account
o
f
hum
an
natu
re
as
non
moral
an
d
O f mo rality
,
(
som e way adve ntitiou s an d external i s what w e call
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L e vi ath an l
L e vi ath an l
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L e vi ath an 1
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p 82
Pt I C h ap X V p
Pt I I Ch ap X VI I
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10
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3
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T H E CO N CE P T OF U T I LI T Y I N ENGLI S H E T H I C S
.
O
.
N at u ral ism the re fore incl ude s all ac co unts o f human n at u fe
as o riginally non mo ral deprave d o r selfis h ; all a ccounts o f
human beings as actuat ed only by motive s O f sel f i nte res t w ithout
moral consi de ration ; al l account s o f th e mo ral obligation a s not
having its so u rce i n th e m o ral n atu r e o f man but as O p erating
on human action i n some sen se ext ernally wheth e r by the wil l o f
G od a s postulat ed by th eological n atu ral i sm o r by th e soci al
religious an d l egal s anction s o f the l ate r Util itarian s The point
to not e i s that n atu ral l y m an know s no mo ral obl igation Re cog
n i t i on o f mo ral Obl igat ion i s fo rce d upon th e i ndivi dual by a
divin e ordinan ce O f G o d o r by th e sup erio r force o f so ciety
H obb e s s n atu ral i stic account o f mo ral ity imm ediately c rys
t al l i s e d t h e ke en inte rest i n ethi cal subj ects awaken e d i n the
sevent e enth centu ry Renai s san ce i nto s uppo rt an d attack Th e
cu rrent rat ion al i st ic a ccou nts o f m an as an e ssentially r easoning
being ; o f mo ral ity a s a set o f p rinc ipl e s i nnately known ; o f th e
mora l proces s as th at o f imm edi at el y i denti fyi ng fact w ith p rin
ci p l e ; an d th e en d o f l i fe as b are i dent ity h ad to m e et a n d comb at
a syst e m definite beyo n d sh adow o f doubt
M an i s a s el fish
creatu r e rule d by appetite alon e ; th e e n d o f l i fe i s to att ai n th e
grea test amount o f happi ness Th e S tate i s suppo se d to b e an
invention d evi sed to s ati s fy th e n ee d felt fo r e ff e ctively s a fe
guarding m an from the evil e ff ect s o f hi s own n atu re I n th e
ethical a n d theological co nt roversi e s which sprung up to a ns we r
H obbe s s chall enge it i s intere sting to n ote that th e s am e diver
gen ce o f Opinion reappears whi ch a fte r A ri stotl e spl i t G re ek
p h ilosop h i cal s chool s i nto S to ic an d E pi cu rean ; but with th is
di ff e rence Th e s chool o f thinke rs wh ich repre sent t he
an d disti nctively m ode rn position i n E ngl i sh eth ics b ase d its p rin
c i p l es o n a h edo ni stic inte rp retation o f m an s natu re r esting to a
gr e at e r o r l ess e r d egree on H obbe s s n atu rali sti c p sycholo gy ;
whil e t h e n egative an d p rot e stin g school i n th e p e rson s
C ambridge Pl aton i st s an d t h e rational theologian s following i n
th e main th e cl as si cal trad ition b as e d thei r a rguments against
H obbe s and the mode rn fo rm o f h edoni sm on t h ei r o wn i nt e r
p ret at i on o f Pl atoni c o r A ri stotel ian i de al ism
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TO T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DG M EN T
.
Though H obbe s to a ve ry great extent gave the impul se to
mode rn eth ical sp ecul ation by his revolt f rom th e ratio n al i stic
psychology and the t ra d i tional scholasti c philo sophy o f hi s time
an d by hi s analysi s O f human n ature as h e understoo d it driv e n
to action by pas sion natu rally at war w ith all ma nkind and yet
withal fear fu l an d timo rous yet hi s work was too extrem e too
wi dely oppos ed to the b est thought an d f e eling o f h is tim e t o
serve as the co rne r stone o f a school o f philosophy o r mo ral s
S chools grew up re futin g and recasting h is Opin ion s The th eo
l ogi an s fl ew to arms to save th e wo rld from wors e than E picurean
degrada tion Th os e thinkers sympath eti c w ith h i s poi nt o f vi ew
in di rectly appeal ing to t h e facts o f l i fe fo r th e foundation o f a
syste m o f mo ral s rathe r th an to met aphysical theo ry hesitat e d to
champion the doctrin e o f un ivers al selfishnes s T h e rel igious
ardou r o f th e Re fo rmation was too n ea r and th e gene ral l evel o f
philosoph i c th inking i n the seventeenth c entu ry was too h igh for
th e crude m ate ri alism o f th e H obbian ph ilo sophy o r the politi cal
Opportunism o f th e H obbi an moral s to b e accepte d i n t ot o for t h e
gu idance o f l i fe I t adde d fuel to th e fires o f pol emi c an d dete r
mine d th e di rection in whi ch et h i cal thinking was to proce e d for
nearly two hun dred ye ars but i t remained an in divid ual i nt erp re
t at i on not an ethi cal gu ide book
H al f a centu ry a fter the publ ic ation o f the L evi at h an H ume
sought to un ravel the twi st e d strands o f ethi cal th eo ry t h at h ad
grown al most hop el es s ly con fus ed in th e controve rsies betw ee n
Rational ists I ntell ectuali sts I ntuitioni sts an d t h e M or al S ense
S chool all denouncing o r uphol din g H obb es s n atu r al isti c posi
“
tion I n H ume s two ethi cal wo rks th e T
n
“
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N ature an d th e E n u i r Con cern i n th e P rinci l e o f M oral s
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O ne o f th e most
ethi cal theory was h i s statem ent o f the di ff e re nce b e twe en t h e
intelle ctual an d th e mo ral f acul ties th e great poi nt o f controve rsy
between th e Ration al ist s and the M o ral S ens e p h ilosop h e rs Th e
intellect H ume conce ived o f as passive S ens e imp ressions are
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T H E CON CE PT OF UT I LI T Y I N EN GLI S H E T H I C S
2
.
3
given are assoc i ate d acco rdi ng to ce rtain l aws an d are known as
I deas M o ral facts how eve r are di rec tly pe rceive d by a M o ral
S ense which i s an active inn e r function an d which subm its
“
th e facts p erce ive d to an inne r st andard
A ction s m ay b e l au d
abl e Or blameabl e ; but they cannot be reason abl e o r u n r e asonabl e
L audabl e an d bl am eabl e the r e fo re are not th e s ame with r e ason
abl e or un r easonabl e The m erit and deme rit O f action s frequ ently
contradi ct an d sometim es control ou r natural p rop ensit ies
B ut reason h as no su ch i nfl u ence M oral di stinct ion s th e re fo re
are not the o ff sp ring o f reason R e ason i s wholly i nactive
and can n eve r b e th e sou rc e o f so active a p ri ncipl e as con sci en ce
”1 °
o r a sense o f mo rals
H ad H um e se t to wo rk to analyse th e Ope ration s o f t h e M o ra
S en s e with th e acumen with w h ich h e pe r fo rm e d hi s l ogic al
a n alysi s th e hi sto ry o f util itarian mo ral s might n eve r h ave b een
written B ut H ume was too mu ch a di s cipl e o f H obb es an d too
di strust ful o f a faculty wh i ch j udged immediately wit h re feren c e
to an i deal o f right an d w rong to b e content to say M an i s a
moral being an d n ot a n atu ral c reatu r e an d th e co nt e nt o f
moral ity i s to b e foun d i n s tu dying t h e Ope ration o f h i s m o ral
”
sense an d the natu r e o f hi s mo ral acts
H aving postulated an
imme diate m o r al sens e H um e ana lys e d i t no fu rthe r but tu rne d
to s eek th e foundation p ri ncipl e o f mo ral s i n an analysi s o f P e r
sonal M eri t o r o f tho se human qu al iti e s wh i c h w e j u dge to be
“
admi rabl e ; p ro ce e ding fro m wh at h e con sid ered to be th e u n
doubt ed m axim t h at no action can b e vi rtuous o r mo rally goo d
unl e ss t h e re b e in h uman n atu re some m otive to p ro du ce i t dis
”1 1
tinct from t h e sen se o f it s m o ral ity
I n t h i s investi gation H um e abandone d t h e rational isti c m ethod
o f dedu ctio n f rom axioms an d us e d the m et h o d o f sci en ce H e
s tudie d th e natu re o f th e variou s admi rabl e qual it i es o r vi rtu es ;
j ustice ben e vol ence e quity an d othe rs
A s th e resul t o f his
inv e stigatio n h e fo un d that al l th e qual itie s w h i ch we designate
as vi rtuou s arou s e i n u s pl easu rabl e s en sation s an d all viciou s and
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i iiTreaNt i s e
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E
11
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c
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4 79
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of
H u man N at u r e
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4 58
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TO T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DGM EN T
.
e vil qualities co rrespon dingly pai n ful ones
F urth e r analys is
reveal s fou r sou rces o f pl easu re pa i n o r r ather fou r prin cipl es
“
whi ch se rve to d i stingui sh between virtu e and vice
Fo r w e
reap a pl easu re from th e vi ew o f a characte r w h ich i s n atu rally
fitted to b e u s e ful to others o r to the person h im s e l f o r wh i ch is
”1 2
agree abl e to oth e rs o r to th e pe rson him sel f
Thi s fou r fol d
d ivisio n o f qual itie s use ful an d agreeabl e to ou rs elve s and qu ali
t ie s use ful and agr e eabl e to oth ers becom e s the b asi s o f th e
“
chapte r divi sion o f H um e s l ate r wo rk th e E nqui ry C oncerning
the P rinciples o f M o ral s
H i s position i s stated clearly i n t h e
A pp e ndix t o the E nqu i ry The hypothe si s whi ch w e emb rac e i s
pl ain I t maintain s that mo ral ity i s determ ined by s entim ent I t
d efines vi rtu e to be whatever mental action o r qual ity gives to t h e
an d vice the
ect at or the pl e asi ng sentiment o f app robation
”1 3
“
A n d th e ultima te sou rc e o f th is pl eas ing s entiment
n t rary
”
approbation i s t h e u se fuln es s o r agreeabl en es s o f the action
qual ity to ou rs elve s o r to others
I n othe r wo rds th e c riterion whi ch may b e app li
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ral con cept w h ic h
may be appl ie d to particul ar case s to test th ei r ethi cal val i dity : it
mu st be u t i li ty f or the tru e inte rest o f m anki nd H e thus avoided
th e e rror o f th e C ommon S en se school whi ch i n asse rting an
imm edi ate a n d pe rsonal perception of right an d wrong admitted
no unive rsal standard o f eth ical j udgment and i n cases o f e rro r
an d di sagreem ent reduce d moral j ud gments to a matte r o f p er
sonal opi nion M o ral j udgments H um e rightly pe rc eived coul d
have no univers al val id i ty unl es s th e moral standard w ere capabl e
o f unive rsal appl i cation i n part icular in stances as the i ntell ectu al
s tandard o f con si stency m ay be appl i ed to facts o f t ruth and fal se
hoo d
n g di scovered i n h is an alysi s o f Pe rsonal
M eri t that
”
util ity fo r se rving th e t ru e interests o f m an kind is partly at
l east the ground fo r ou r a pp robation o f vi rtuou s con duct H ume
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12
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H u me s T re atis e of H u man N at u r e
H u me s En q u i ry C once rn i n g M orals
’
“
,
13
’
C l are n d on P re ss e diti on p
C l ar en d on P ress e diti on P
,
“
,
1
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59 1
2
.
TO TAL UT I LI T Y
AN D
T H E ECO N O M I C J U DG M EN T
.
and that l imite d gen ero s i ty whi c h I have frequ ently obser v ed to
be natu ral to men
B en evol ence an d S el f love are not n eces
but may b e suppl ementary
s ari l y antithet i cal el em ents i n m an
facto r s in an o rgani c unity
B ut H um e s a c count w as not con clu sive Th e great probl em fo r
th e e i ghteenth c entu ry moral i st was to fin d som e moti v e i n hum an
n atu re strong enough to acc ount fo r mo ral ity Why shoul d a
m an act mo rally o r fo r th e goo d o f others at p erson al s acrific e
when his natu ral i n s tincts impel him only to s eek pleasu re an d
avo i d pa i n " H ow can th ere be a qu e s tion o f mo ral choi ce wh en
the st rongest pl e asurabl e o r pai n ful se nsation according to th e
cu rrent psy c holo gy mu st dete rm ine th e will " I n S pite o f qu es
t i on i n gs m oral i ty remai ned a pe rsi stent fact in expl icabl e on a
hypoth esis
gh m o rality be an admitted fact i t stil l m ight b e an
arbit rary one ; according to H obbes it was a creati on o f pol i cy
an d convention upon whi ch vi ew society an d civil an d rel i gi ous
institution s w ere as hous es bui lt upon th e s an d H obb e s s account
o f th e multitude to maintai n a mutu al peace fail e d
to give any assuranc e o f stabil i ty even when th e agreement was
“
”
fo rtified by the de cre e s o f the L e v i ath an The mutual peace
m i ght b e overturne d at any mom ent by th e s am e multitu de in a
t o f w ill b y a si ngl e decree o f th e L evi athan H um e s
qual ified M o ral S en se an d s entim ents o f hum anity o r sym pathy
we re too shado w y too much at the m ercy o f th e st ron ger s elfish
instincts whi ch both philo soph ers admitted as essenti al characte r
i s t i cs o f human natu re
A l l th e arguments which H um e coul d
bring to b ear from oth er sou rce s
th e u ni versal s entiment o f
sympathy an d hum an ity th e fact th at pl eas ure cam e to be as soci
ated w ith vi rtue and pa i n w ith vi ce th at qu al iti es u s eful and
agre eabl e to oth ers infl uence u s a s well as those di rectly aff ecting
ou rselves failed to make the moral law ob l i gat ory i n private o r
i n p ubl i c l i fe on ce i t w e re admitte d that all con duct i s dete rm i ne d
by an expect ed exces s o f pl easu re ove r pain A cco rdingly w e
fin d th e tren d o f ethi cal thought a fte r H ume t urn ing from an
analytical study o f hum an nat ure to search fo r som e exte rnal
”
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T H E CO N CE P T OF U T I LI T Y I N ENGLI S H ET H I C S
.
aut h ori ty o r s an cti on to support the mo r al el ement i n hum an
natu re whi c h s eem ed at the m e rcy o f all the low e r pas sion s an d
insti ncts
Pal ey takes i ssu e with H u m e on j u st thi s poi nt H um e h ad
“
compl ai ne d o f th e m odern sc h em e o f un iting et hi cks with C hri s
tian t h eolo gy :
Pal ey an uncom p rom i sing theol ogi an cl aim s
that witho ut the the ol ogical san ction th ere i s nothi ng b in ding i n
”
“
mo rali ty I n c riti ci sing H um e s Treati s e h e says
Wh en th ey
have read i t ove r l et th em cons i der wheth e r any motive s t h ere
propos ed ar e l ikely to be foun d su ffici ent to withhol d m en fro m
the gratification o f l ust revenge envy ambition avari ce ; o r to
prevent th e exi stenc e o f thos e pas sion s Unl e ss th ey rise f rom
thi s celeb rated es say w ith stronge r impres sion i n thei r min d t h an
it eve r l e ft upo n min e th ey w ill acknowl edge t h e n ecess ity o f
”1 6
“
”
a dditional san ction s
Thes e additional s an ction s o r external
mom to mo ral ity P al ey frankly re cogn i ses as th e nexu s o f h is
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P al ey
’
P rin cipl e s o f M oral an d Pol iti cal Philosop h y i s
admi rably cl ear and concis e an d a dire ct contrast to H um e s l e ss
consi stent but mo re sugge stive wo rk Pa l ey i s a typi cal exponent
o f eighte ent h centu ry th eology H e i s brilli ant poi nte d and con
v i n c i n g but sh allo w an d u nanalyti c
B ut h e i s frankly he donisti c
and incline d to l ook at soci ety as a machi n e an d h um an i n s t i t u
“
tions as cont rivan ce s
H e p re faces to his P rinciple s o f M o ral s a n atural istic
account o f man s psyc h ological n atu r e H e d eni es H um e s
“
”
M o ra l S ense
as we l l as th e I nnate I deas o f th e ration ali st s
C ertain action s are approved an d othe rs di sapprove d by th e p ro
cess o f as so ci ation whe reby pl easu re i s as soci ated w ith good
action an d pain w ith evil G ood a ction s ten d to b e repeated on
account o f th e human propen sity to im itate H appi ne ss i nte r
A ny con dition may
p re t ed hedon i sti cally i s th e E n d o f L i fe
be denominat ed h appy i n which th e amou nt o r aggregat e o f
pl easu re exce ed s that o f pai n ; an d the degree o f h appine s s
s
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81 0
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M or al Phil os ophy
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p
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66 V ol
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I B e l ch e r
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e
diti on ( 5
2
T O T AL U T I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DGM EN T
8
.
'
depen ds upon th e quantity o f thi s exce ss
Pl easu res more
”
over di ffe r i n nothing by c ontinuan ce and inten sity
B ut Pa l ey he s i tated to champio n too cons i stently a doctrin e
wh ich woul d l ead him to th e H obbian assumption o f un ive rsal
“
selfi s hness and h e h astens to a dd H appiness does n ot cons i st
i n pl easures o f sen se i n whateve r pro fu sion o r vari ety they may
be enj oyed
no r doth it con sist i n exemption from
pain labou r ca re bus in es s expens e mol estation
s u ch
a state being u sually atten de d not w i th ease but w ith de p re ssion
” 1 8
o f spi rits ; nor agai n doth h appiness consist in greatness
rank o r elevated station
Paley recogni se s th at the es sential s
o f hum an h appin es s l i e in activity I t i s to b e found in the
“
exercis e o f ou r faculties e i ther o f body o r m ind in some en gag
20
ing end
B ut P al ey do e s not i nvestigate th e natu re o f the
”
“
engaging end
A part from th e natu ral i ncl ination s o f m en how eve r we fin d
exi st i ng i n the wo rl d th e rul es an d di ctates o f moral ity Th es e
enj oin upon m an th e n ecessity o f acting for hi s futu re as w el l as
fo r hi s p re sent h appines s ; wh ich m ean s acti ng acco rding to
Vi rtue Vi rtu e thu s c onceive d as an exte rnal n on natu r al
quality exi st i ng in th e worl d and domi nating c on duct i s defined
“
as doing good to m ank i n d i n ob edien ce to th e Wil l o f G od ; an d
” 21
o
a
t
h
A c co rding to which
r
e
s
k e o f eve rl asting happine ss
f
definition the goo d o f mankin d i s th e subj ect th e will o f G od
th e rul e ; an d everlast ing h appin es s th e motive o f h uman
”22
virtue
I n thes e few wo rd s P al ey sum s up hi s system M an
con si de red as a natural c reatu re has no motive to act except
acco rdi ng to hi s desi res fo r pe rsona l h appines s There fo re to
account fo r th e many mo ral motives whi ch are seen to ope rate i n
the wo rl d h e mu st be exte rnally compelle d by th e will o f G o d
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P al e y P r i ncipl e s
l c p 41
l c p 43
l c p 45
l c p 51
”
I c p 61
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I p
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39
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T H E CO N CE P T OF U T I LI T Y I N ENGLI S H E T H I C S
2
.
9
with the hopes o f eve rl asting happi ness held u p be fore h is eyes
as a reward fo r well doi ng I f man is d en ie d a mo ral n atu re the
safe ty an d good o f s oc i ety can only b e safegu arde d again st
exce s ses o f the selfi s h i n sti ncts by the s up ernatu ral i ntervention
o f the will o f G o d
Th i s na tu rali sti c an d non mo ral account o f human natu re
appears mo re cl early when P al ey tu rn s to i nvestigate the n atu re
o f O bligation Why i s m an obliged to obey even th e will o f G o d "
A nd Paley an swe rs A man i s sai d to be obl iged when h e i s
urged by a viol ent motive r esulting from the comman d o f
”
another
The whol e mo ral co d e the re fo re i s re duced to t h e
di ctum : private happi n es s i s ou r m otive and the w ill o f G o d ou r
“
”2 3
rule
I n o rde r t o as ce rtain th e w ill o f G od we mu st i nqui re
into th e gen e ral tendency o f the actio n to p romote o r dimi nish th e
general h appiness This rul e proceeds upon th e p resumptio n th at
G od A lm ighty w ill s an d wi she s th e happ i ne ss o f h i s creatu re s
and cons equ ently that those action s th at p romot e that w ill an d
24
wish mus t b e agreeabl e to him and th e contra ry
Pal ey
reach es the co ncl u sion that G o d as ess enti al goo dnes s must w ill
the greate st ha ppin es s to manki nd by a most characteristi c bit
“
o f argum ent
When A lmighty G o d c reat ed th e h uman sp ecie s
he wi she d thei r happine s s o r he wi she d thei r mi se ry o r he was
indi ffe rent an d u nconce rne d about both I f h e h ad wi sh ed ou r
mise ry he m ight have m ade s u re o f h is pu rpos e by fo r ming ou r
senses to be so m any so re s and pain s to us
I f h e h ad
been ind i ffe rent to ou r ha ppin ess o r mise ry we m ust impute to
Ou r good fo rtun e
th e capacity o f ou r s ens es to re ceive
pl easu r e
B ut e ithe r o f th es e being too much to be
attribute d to accid ent noth ing remains but th e fi rs t supposi tion
that G od wh en h e c reate d the human s pec i e s wi s h ed the i r happi
25
ness
Th us Pal ey s cores a point again st s u ch rational theologi an s
as C udwo rth an d C lark with thei r vagu e pri ncipl e o f identity
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T O T AL U T I LI T Y A ND T H E ECONO M I C J U DG M EN T
0
.
b etween obj ect an d idea by bei ng abl e to poi nt to a definite c ri
“
I t i s the util i ty o f any mo ral rul e whi ch a lon e
t e ri on o f right
”
I f w e ask fo r what en d i s t h i s
co n s t i tute s th e obligat i on to it
“
action u se ful Pal ey ans w ers — th e general h appine ss wh i ch
indicates what i s right and cons equ ently what i s th e wi ll o f
”
G od
A ny n atu ra li stic acco unt o f man l e aving out r egulative i deals
an d th e poss ib il ity o f j udging right o r w rong wit h resp e ct to
th em m ust nece ssarily l ead to th e supe rnatur al ism s o evi d e nt in
I f m an i s gov e rne d by pu rely n atu r al
P al ey s system o f moral s
motives certain great class e s o f phenom ena fa il to b e account e d
fo r ; gen erosity sac ri fi ce all fo rms o f altru ism activity for
re form an d social se rvi ce I f these attribute s are not n atu ral
an d the p ro ducts o f pl easu re pain they mu st b e s up ernatu r al
o r th e man i festat i ons o f a sup erio r w ill I f th ese elements i n li fe
whi ch s eem to b e the most valu abl e and the most admirabl e o f
hum an qu al itie s are yet not natural to man th ei r exi stence in
the worl d must be en force d sup ernatu rally by the direct i n t erv en
t i on o f G od S o Paley met the d eman d fo r s a feguardi ng moral ity
by supplying a theol ogi cal prop to man s fail ing natu re The
fear o f futu re pun i shment an d th e hop e o f f utu re r ewards con
strai n m an to act mo rally an d thu s again st hi s real hum an
natu re
Paley th u s p resented a definite system freed from the ambi
gu i t i es an d unce rtainti es o f H ume o r th e works o f the C ommon
S ense s chool Th e account o f hum an natu r e i s still natu ral istic
and th e s tubborn facts o f mo ral acts an d moral j udgm e nts whi ch
fail ed o f an expl anation on any n atu rali stic psych ology w er e arbi
t rari l y accounte d for as th e inj unctions o f a supern atu ra l B e ing
P al ey s ad v ance ove r the H obbes i an n atu rali sm l i e s i n hi s re cogn i
tion th at happine s s i s not m ere s ensation o r an id ea o f a sum o f
s ens ation but i s actively a p ro ces s o f attaining some engaging
end
H e al so emphasi s es H um e s u se o f util ity as a criterion
for det erm i ning right act i on in pl ace o f the ra tionali sti c c rit e rion
o f m er e i dentity A c tio ns are to b e unive rsally estimated by thei r
“
ten dency Whateve r i s exp ed i ent i s ri ght I t is the utility o f any
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T H E CO N CE P T OF U T I LI T Y I N EN GLI S H E T H I C S
3
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1
”2 6
mo ral rul e which alone constitutes the obl iga t ion to i t
Util ity
as a unive rsal c ri te rion fo r mo ral j udgment s i s a long step i n
advan ce o f H obbes s conc ept o f moral i ty as pru denti al re straint ;
but utility fo r P aley does not s i gni fy what it m eant fo r H ume
Ut i lity fo r H um e i s a criterion a u n i ve rsal ter m by m ean s o f
which a moral be i ng tests h i s ow n j udgments o f right an d w ro n g
This action i s right an d p rai s ewo rthy Why " B ecau se it i s
agre e abl e to m e o r to oth er peopl e ; o r becau se it s erves a pe r
sonal o r social end A noth e r action as j udge d w rong o r unworthy
and when te sted by th e mo ral crite rion i s foun d to be subve rsive
o f pe rsonal o r so ci al en ds
B ut fo r Pal ey u ti l i ty is not th e crite rion o f th e j udgments
o f a fre e m oral being but o f th e w ill o f a supe rnatu ral agent
27
The c rite rion o f right i s utility
b ut bec aus e moral
ob li ga ti ons depe nd as we have se en upon the Wi ll o f G o d righ t
whi ch is co rrelat i ve to it m u s t dep end on the sam e Right th ere
28
fore s ignifie s c on s is t en cy wi t h t he Wi l l of G od
Paley
the re fore admits util ity as th e crite rion o f moral j udgm ents but
does not admit m
an s capacity to j udge mo rally H i s system is
thus mo re n atu ral isti c th an H um e s an d mo re consi stent A
creatu re con s trai ne d to act by an anticipat e d exce ss o f p l eas u r
abl e or pain ful s ensation coul d not b e expected to m ake fre e
moral j u dgm ents H i s obl igation to act mo rally th e re fo re com es
not from hi s own n atu re but from th e wil l o f G od
Th e l ast quarte r o f th e eighteenth century saw a rapid trans
formation an d readj ustme nt Of soc ial and indu stri al con di tions
which caus ed th e specula t i ve m en o f th e tim e s to tu rn f ro m the
abstract th eological an d rational syst em s o f Pal ey and hi s fellow
theologian s to deal with th e imm edi ate an d p ress ing p roblem s o f
the day M o ral i ty they claim ed mu st not only give a true
account o f h uman natu re but i t mu st p r ov i de some posit i ve
stan dard to s e rve as the c riterio n o f practi cal re form
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27
P r i ncipl e s
l c p 71
c
p 78
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of
M orals
,
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.
I p
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70
.
n i ka
T O T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DG M EN T
m
.
B entham s P r i n ci pl es o f M oral s an d L egi slation
containing i n s ubstan ce h i s whol e th eo ry o f ethics appeare d thre e
“
”
years a fter P al ey s P rin ciple s o f Philosophy
Th e accoun t o f
human natu re o f mo ral ity and the logi cal proc ess es upon w h i c h
t h e s y s t em of moral i ty i s d erived are almost i denti cal i n t h e two
books but whil e P al ey s P rinc i ples i s rel egat ed to the theo
“
logical philo sophy oi th e eighteenth centu ry B entham s M or al s
an d L egi sl ation b ecam e the t ext book o f th e early nineteenth
centu ry pol iti cal a n d so cial re form ers B entham added nothi ng
at all to the ut i l itarian theory o f moral s as m any o f hi s com
men t at ors have taken great pains to po int out
H e i s in debted to
G ay Tu cke r H utch inson a n d H um e fo r hi s p sychology in deed
fo r the ve ry content o f his theo ry H i s logic i s the logic o f Pal ey
B ut the fo r m i nto which h e cast util itari an th eory m arks the
beginning o f a new epoch an d th e i mpo rtan c e o f th e change
cannot b e too strongly emphasi se d M oral th eory whi ch in the
eighteenth centu ry was th e s ubj ect o f a cademi c d iscus sion and
theolog i cal pol emic was trans fo rm ed by B ent h am s legal and
codi fyi ng m in d into a p ractical util itarian plat form fo r pol iti cal
a n d soci al re form
B ut to appre ciate the ful l significan ce o f th i s change i n th e
charact e r o f ethical thinking wh ich occas io n ed B entham s work
and typ ifies the early nin eteenth c entu ry attitu de toward mo ral ity
it i s n ecessary to not e th e socia l and pol itical background the
changed indu stri al con d i tions an d reorgan is e d social classe s which
“
b rought forth th e n ew poi nt o f vi ew I n th e firs t vol ume o f E n g
”
li sh Utilitari anism L esli e Steph en has given a very graph i c an d
del i ght ful account o f th e social i ndust rial an d intelle ctu al l i fe
in E ngland wh ich i s th e p rope r setti ng to stu dy B entham and th e
”
“
work o f the early util itarians
Th e se con dition s can only be
ve ry bri efly in dicated i n th e space o f thi s study but they are
es sential i n b ringing out th e s ignificance o f B entham s place i n
the history o f util itari an th eory an d the reason why hi s ve rsion
o f utilitari an i sm an d not th at o f H ume o r Pal ey becam e i n fl u
e n t i al i n E ngl ish ethi cal an d e conomi c theory
A n d in pas sing
from th e theo reti cal an d acad emic d iscus sion o f mo ral s whi ch
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T O T AL U T I LI T Y A ND T H E ECONO M I C J U DG M EN T
34
.
was in the hands o f the lande d ar i sto cracy Th e sam e cl as s con
t rolle d al l appointments in the army an d navy ; an d all th e o ffice s
i n th e C hu rch o f E ngland The Univer sit i es wh ich serve d as
step s to eccl es iasti cal pre fe rment depended to a great extent on
th e l an de d intere st fo r s upport and en dowment and fo r pl ace and
p romotion for the i r students A n d finally th e adm i ni stration o f
j ust ice i n the hands o f county j ust ices o f peace was u sually the
privil ege o f th e heads o r rep resentative s o f th e county famil ies
Thus Parliame nt with th e finan cial and l egi sl at ive f unct ions
army an d n avy C h u rch and S t ate ; in f act all l egi slative execu
tive and j u dic ial powe r was concentrat e d i n the h ands o f a singl e
cl a s s th e l ande d aristocracy r ep res ent ing th e agricultu r al
“
we alth o f the country A s L esli e Steph en puts it the early
cent ral i s ation o f the E ngli sh M onarchy h ad m ade th e l aw
suprem e an d inste ad o f generating a n ew structu re h ad com
The soverei gn
b i n e d an d regul ated th e existing soci al fo rces
powe r w as thus form e d to the aristo c r acy i nstead o f form ing an
” 29
o rgan o f it s own
Th i s cl ass h av i ng all dut ies as well as all
p riv i l ege s a s s ert ed its politi cal po sition i n term s o f e ighte enth cen
tu ry individu alism Th ei r pol iti cal c reed was not bas ed on an
econom ic i nterp retat ion Th ey d i d not say C ertain cl asses rul e
an d have p rivilege b ecau s e th ey control the wealth o f th e nation
”
an d s o can concent rat e p ower
B ut ac c ording to thei r pol itical
ph ilosophy certain m en by n at u re an d i n virtue o f th ei r cl ass i n
s ociety are fi t to rul e and hol d o ffice I t rem ain e d fo r the utili
”
tarian r e formers t o que sti on th e divine right o f th is natur e an d
to deny the fitne ss
A fte r th e m i ddle o f th e e ighte ent h centu ry th e l ande d inter
ests though reta i ning th e perqui sites o f the i r earl ier sup rem acy
h ad cea s e d to b e the mai n sour ce o f w ealth i n E ngl and M anu
fact u ri n g int e re s ts which had b een steadily spre ading fo r over
a century r eceive d a t rem endous impet us in th e incr eased forei gn
t rade and co i nci dent development o f mach ine ry an d te chniqu e
which m arke d th e l ast decad e s o f th e cent u ry Two n ew so cial
cl ass es be c am e prom i ne nt fo r th e first time ; th e i ndu st ri al work
.
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29
L e sli e S t e ph en
,
Th e
E n glish U tilit ar i an s
,
V ol
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I p
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.
53
.
T H E CO N CE P T OF UT I LI T Y I N ENGLI S H E T H I C S
35
.
ing class wh ich th ronge d t h e factory t owns an d re d i stribute d
popul ation so e ff ect ively th at Parli am ent ary r e form b ec am e an
issu e with the ris e o f the mo dern facto ry syst em ; an d th e cl ass
o f i n dustrial operators the m anu factur ers Th i s l atter group o f
men ros e i n m ost cases f rom th e ranks o f th e l abo urer s by th ei r
industry an d ingenu ity an d are a fo rce to be recko ne d with in
any account o f ethical p olit ical o r econ om i c op ini on o f thi s t ime
The h isto ry is yet to be w ritt en o f th e influ enc e on cu r rent spec
u l at i v e an d pr act ical o p inio n o f s uch m en as A rkw right th e i n
F ranci s Pl ace th e tailo r Tel fo rd
v e n t or W edg e woo d th e potter
Watt H argreaves C ompton an d m any othe rs who have b ee n
h ithe rt o known only from t hei r in du st ri al o r tech n ical achi eve
ments Th ey are known as th e invento rs an d as the foun ders o f
the great E ngl ish in dust r i es th e men wh o p repare d th e w ay fo r
the in du stri al development o f the n in ete enth centu ry They l eft
an equally en du ring mark on E ngli sh thought not only on th e fav
but o n po lit ical
ori t e subj ect for spe cul ati on m o ral ph ilo s ophy
theo ry an d mo st especi ally on th e n e w s cience gr ow i ng o ut o f
“
”
the condit ion th us in d ic ate d calle d P ol itical E c onomy
M any o f the s e m en w e re frien ds o f B enth am th e expon ent o f
cu rrent m o ral th eory a s well as th e make r o f legal code s and
o f A d am Smith th e prophet o f th e n ew i n du st ri al ism an d t he
“
F athe r o f E ngl i sh Pol it ical E conomy
I n th e s everal s cientific
an d ph ilosoph i cal societ ies foun de d in th e rap i dly growi ng fac
tory towns o f whi ch the L unar S oci ety at B i rmingham and the
“
”
L i te rary an d Philosophi cal Soc i ety at M an che s t e r w ere the
most eminent al l the so ci al pol i ti cal and e conomi c p robl ems o f
th e day cam e u p fo r di scu ss ion as well as matte rs o f lit era ry an d
sc ientific int erest Th e l i st o f m emb e r s h ip o f the se so cieti e s shows
that the m an u factur e rs we re a ffil iate d w ith th e be st s cient i fi c
and ph il osoph ic m in ds o f th e tim e s
Wh en w e con s ider that
the se p ione e rs o f i nd ustry t ra i ne d i n th e hard school o f pove rty
and toil we re l iving in a country pol iti cal ly co rrupt whos e
rul i ng cl as s was m aintaining th e e stabl i she d o rder through th e i r
cont rol o f o ffice an d w e re pract ically excl ud in g from particip a
tion in G ove rnment tho s e ve ry in du strial i nte r ests wh i ch late r
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T O T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DG M EN T
6
3
.
we re d estined to m ake E ngl and a worl d p owe r in a sens e not
d reame d o f by the eight eenth ce ntury P hys iocrats it i s sm all
w on der that when th e manu facture r s tu rned th e ir attention to
r i ght i ng exi s t ing ev i ls an d formul ating a pl at f orm o f re form
the i r eth i cs w e r e st rictly pr actical an d ut i l itari an and th eir
the ory o f wealth was exp ress ed i n term s o f abst inence an d to il
The evil s o f th e tim es wh ich cau se d al l thought ful m e n to
conside r th e ne cessity o f som e concrete standard o f right as the
b asis o f e ffective r eform had flou rishe d so t o sp eak in th e ve ry
sh adow o f the E ngl i s h C onst itution The pol i cy o f allow ing the
maxi mum o f l ibe rty t o th e i ndividu al w ith th e m inimum o f gov
e rn me n t al int er fer enc e
h ad all owe d th e l an d own ing cl asse s to
control admin ist rat ive function s and made po ss ibl e th e rap i d
deve l opm ent o f in dustry an d m anu fact u re but o ffer ed n o al le
fo r the i ncreasingly d isadvantageou s pos it ion o f t he
v i at i on
l ab our i ng class es F u rthermore th e very natur e o f the indu strial
devel opment brought great d i stre ss to thous an ds o f wo rking
people
Th e rapi d su b stitut ion o f machine ry for h and l abou r
turn ed whol e group s o f i ndust ri al wo rkers out of employm ent
L es s h and s we re neede d in the n ew organiz ation th an unde r the
ol d r "gime ; an d cut th roat competition drove down th e w ages
o f those l abo urers finding work in the recon stru cted organisa
t i on with the resul ting rioting an d d i sord e rs whi ch darken ed
the close o f the eight e enth century I n th e absence o f adequate
pol ic e system s i n m any o f the rapidly gr owing factory town s
an d most e spec i ally in the city o f L on don paup erism becam e a
i”
0
m enace to pe ac e and ord er
The t raditional and m e di aeval sys
te m o f town gover nment h ad died out or broken down u nder th e
chang i ng in dustr ial con dit i on s an d m uni c i p al admin istrat i on was
at i ts lowest point of e ffi c i ency Town s we re without charters
w ithout adequ at e p r is on s h ospital s or pol ice force Th e crim inal
code th e accumul ation o f centu r i es o f custom p rece dent and
en a c tment s w i tho ut adequate cod i ficat ion e i th er puni sh ed i n hu
manel y or all owed cl ever crim i n als to sl ip through the grasp o f
the l aw These conditions w er e fu rth er aggravat e d by th e l ack
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L e sli e S t eph en s l
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I C h ap I I I
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T H E CON CE P T OF U T I LI T Y I N EN G L I S H E T H I C S
37
.
o f any national system o f e ducation S o that i n addition to the
evil s o f paupe ri sm an d crime the greater p art o f th e l abo uring
populati on we re gro ssly i gnorant
A ll th e e ffo rts m ad e t o alleviat e th e condition o f the poor w e re
the work o f p rivat e i n dividual s The pe r iod marks a se rie s o f
social exper iment s which were immensely val ua b l e in later re
form legisl ation Poo r l aw bills we re pre sente d to Parl iament
P ris on re form an d th e revisio n o f the C riminal C o de we r e th e
subj ect s o f m any pamphlets and m u ch inve stigat i on I ndustrial
an d techni cal s chools n i ght classe s an d S unday school s w e re
ere cte d on p rivate foun dat ion s Robert O wen the cotton m anu
fact u rer starte d h i s soci al i stic expe rime nts i n p rofit sharing at
N ew L anark ; W i lb er fo rce was agitating th e country fo r the
ab ol it ion o f th e sl ave t rade Th e whol e e ra was on e o f p rotest
and agitation fo r re form Th e n at ional conscience began to sti r ;
th e loss o f th e A m e r ican coloni es an d th e events o f the F rench
Revolution finally w ake d it up to a startl e d s el f con sciou sn ess
With th ese p ra c ti cal p robl em s fo r re fo rm i n th e publ ic m ind :
the condition o f the poo r the pol ice s ystem the criminal code
education th e S lave Trade and m ost fun dam ental of al l th e
re dist ribution o f parl iamentary representati on i t i s small wonder
that whe n m en o f th e typ e o f th e early i n du s t rial ists s ought t o
reme dy th e exist ing evil s they t urne d f rom th e ab st ract an d
metaphys ical speculati ons o f th e m or al ists an d th eol ogian s an d
soug h t a p ractical statem ent o f right an d w rong to s erve as a
campaign plat fo rm
Thi s need B enth am suppl i ed to the e arly ni net eenth cen tu ry
political an d s ocial re f orm e r H e w a s t raine d as an advocate
but neve r p racti s e d h i s p ro fes sion as hi s whol e i nte rest l ay not i n
the appl i cat i on o f th e l aw bu t i n cod i fyi ng and arrangin g existing
systems exposing f allaci e s an d pre par i n g ca re fully worke d out
schem e s fo r re fo rm H i s attitude toward moral s was far f r om
being th e academ i c or controve rs ial inte re st o f th e e ight eenth
centu ry th i nke r H e n ee ded as a m an o f his tim e s a defin ite
standard o f right and a theory o f th e p rin c i pl e s o f human ac
tion to se rve as th e fou ndat ion s o f hi s c ivil and cr im inal codes
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T O T AL U T I LI T Y AND T H E ECONO M I C J U DGM EN T
38
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I t has b een s ai d o f B entham th at h e contr i but ed nothing to t h e
ut i l i tarian theo ry o f mor al s but metho d I t woul d be fai rer to
say th at all the theory n ee d ed was m ethod The conte nt o f the
th eo ry was at han d in th e wo r ks o f G ay H ume H utchinson and
S haft esbury and h ad bee n put into sh ap e for B enth am s pu rpo se
by P al ey B ut th e eth ical S peculatio n o f the age was u sele ss
unl ess fo rm ul ate d to apply p ract ically t o th e evil s o f th e times
B entham s work w as t o take th e util itari an the ory o f the Pal eyan
typ e an d to co d i fy i t in a re fo rm er s h an d book H is eth ical
p rincipl es ar e not elaborate d into an al l emb racing syst em ; they
are the ne cessary i ntroduction to h i s c ivil an d criminal l egisl a
t i on
The p sychological grou ndwor k o f B e nth am s ethi cs i s u nmi s
N atu re h as pl ace d man u nder t he gove rn
t akab l y n a t u ral i s ti c
m ent o f t wo sovere i gn maste rs pai n an d pleasu re I t i s fo r
them alone to po int o ut wh at we ought t o do as wel l as to de
” 3"1
“
te rmin e what w e shall do
M oral ity ther e fore th e obj ect o f
which i s to re ar th e fab ric o f fel i c i ty by the han ds o f re ason and
”32
law
has as it s foundation the pr in c ipl e o f util ity The n atu re
“
o f th i s p rincipl e i s mo s t definitely stated
B y th e pri nci pl e is
meant that p r i n cipl e which app roves o r disapp rove s o f every
action wh atsoeve r acco rding to th e ten dency w hi c h it app ears
t o have to augment o r dim i n i sh th e h appin ess o f th e party wh ose
intere s t i s i n que stion
Th e p osition whi ch B entham as sume s
”
i s tha t the phenom enon wh ich w e d esignate as mo ral app roval
i s the operation o f som e active p rinci pl e o f sel ection whereby
m an act s fo r his greatest h appiness the m ani fe st at ion s o f s uch
a principl e app ear i ng as the sens a ti on o f pl easu re and pain
The appli cation o f this princ i pl e o f ut il i ty i s th e wo rk o f the
l egisl ato r an d the e n d h e h as i n vie w i s t o obtain pl easu re and
“
avo i d pains fo r mankin d in gener al or th e Stat e
Pain s and
pl easu res are th e instrum ent s he has to work w ith
it b eh ooves
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B en th am s
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I
82
Pr i ncipl e s
of
M oral s
an d
L e gisl ati on
C l aren d on P r e ss
,
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p 2
B en th am s Th e or y
l
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c
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of
M or al s
and
L e gisl ati on
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9
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T H E CO N CE P T OF U T I LI T Y I N ENGLI S H E T H I C S
39
.
him the re fo re to u nderstan d the i r force which i s again in othe r
34
w ord s thei r value Thu s the i n div i dual regarde d by B e ntham
as a rational as well as se nti ent bei ng i s abl e to calcul ate the
value s o f ple asure s i n or de r t o ins u r e th e great est po ssibl e total
by con si de r ing th ei r i nten sity dur ation ce rt ainty or unc ertain t y
p ropinqu ity or rem ot ene s s Th e l egisl ato r m oreove r has to take
i nto con s ide ratio n th e fu rth e r ci rcum stance s o f their fecundity ;
or chance o f b e ing followe d by m or e o f th e s am e ki n d o f pl eas
u res ; t h ei r pu r ity o r th e chance o f thei r b eing foll owe d by m ore
of the oppos ite kin d ( o r p ain ) an d thei r extent o r th e numbe r
o f p e rsons concer ne d I n o the r wo rds the in divi dual o r legi s
lator i s abl e to make a cal cul u s o f pleasur e ( fel i c ific c alculus ) i n
or de r to insu re the greate st total h app iness and w il l act an d
l egi sl ate w ith th i s en d i n view Thu s man de scr ibe d as a n atu
determ ine d i n h i s action s only by pl e asurabl e
ral i s t i c c reatu re
s ensat i on s o r a b al anc e o f p l ea s u re ab l e ove r p ain ful on es i s al so
regard ed as rati onally cal cul ating a tot al o f ple asure an d p re
s u mab l y dete rm ining h i s act ion pru denti al ly by giving up an i n
t en s e pl e as u re o f short du rat ion fo r a mode rat e pl easu re ext en d
ing ove r a long sp an o f tim e ; or an unce rt ain an d rem ot e pl easu r e
for a ce rtain and imm e diate on e o f l es se r degree Th e l egisla
to r for app arently no mot i ve o f pl e asu re at all exe rci ses th e
sam e rat ional c al culation for the m ass o f th e p eopl e
F rom wh ence it com e s th at mot ive fo r action m eans th e i dea
o f a pl easu re o r pain Ope rating in som e in expl icabl e w ay di re ctly
35
upon th e w i ll
N o motive can be s ai d to be i n its el f b ad as th e
ide a o f a b ad pl easu re i s a contradict i on in te rm s Motive s as
in th e case o f pleasure s may only b e calle d goo d o r b ad wi th
re fe rence to th ei r known e ffect s upon th e sum o f pleasu res an d
the n not accu rately D i s pos i t ion al so wh ich i s th e sum o f the
motives an d t endenci es o f action i n an ind i v idual m ay not r ightly
be j udged goo d o r ba d except f rom th e relat i v e am ounts o f
pl easu re and pa i n re sulting f rom su ch a c t i vity Thu s a m an i s
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4
TO T AL U T I LI T Y A ND
0
TH E E CON OM I C
,
J U DGM EN T
.
36
s ai d to have a m ischi evou s di sposition when by th e infl uence
o f no matte r what m ot ive s he is p res u med to b e mor e apt to
engage
in acts which are app aren tly o f a pe rnici ou s
”
tendency than i n s uch as are appar e ntly o f a b eneficial tendency
I mm oral i ty i n th is point of view am ounts to an e rr or o f j udg
m ent o r o f imag i nation o f what seem s to be pl easant M an can
act only from an i de a o f ple asure I f a fter p er fo rming th e ac
t i on p ain ful rath er than pl easur able s ens at ion s e ns ue th e act
“
”
“
i s deemed p e rn iciou s an d imm oral
Th e idea o f pl easur e
i n s uch a c ase was m istaken
I n asse rting howeve r th at o ur only motiv e to action i s an idea
o f pl easu re B entham makes th i s posit ion ext rem ely expl icit by
“
cataloging human pl eas u res an d pain s unde r the t itle o f T abl e
o f the Spring s o f A ct ions ; showing the various speci es o f pl eas
”37
u res an d pains o f which m an s n atur e i s suscept i b le
He
enum erates i n th i s rem ark able tabul at ion the variou s pl easures
including pl easu res o f the s ens es pl easu re s o f w ealth pow er
am i ty reputat i on sympathy an d antipathy ; th e pai ns of to il sick
n ess ave rs ion et c an d the co rresponding m otive s for act ion
“
ari s ing from th em I t is noti ceabl e that among th e Sp rings o f
”
A ct ion no account i s take n o f activity a ri sing from th e prompt
i ngs of con sc i ence m oral consider ati ons o r d is intereste d b en ev o
le nce Thi s om i s s i on w as po i nted out by J ohn Stu art M ill in h i s
“
”
c rit i c i sm o f the
Tabl e o f the S p rings o f A c t ions but th e omi s
s i on i s ent irely c on s i ste nt w i th B enth am s n atu ral ist ic hypothesis
Th e mot ive s o f fellow feel ing toward oth er indivi dual s o f
nat ional attachm ent to t h e commu nity at large an d o f goo d w ill
“
”
towar d mankin d find th e ir place in th e Tabl e as i nterests co r
r e s pon ding to the pl easu res o f sympathy
Unde r the sam e
h eading ar e l umpe d all the extr a s elfi s h feel ings o f indivi dual
famil i al nat i onal o r h uman good w ill as p erm an ent mo ral qual
“
i t ies
on e vari ety o f the ten clas ses o f the sel f regarding vi r
tues
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B en th am s T h e ory of M oral s an d L egisl ati on
D e on t ol ogy ( Coll ect e d W orks ) I p 1 9 5
B en th am s C oll e c t e d W orks I p 2 0 0
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4
TO T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECONO M I C J U DGM EN T
2
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crea tures who woul d b e m utually d estruct ive i f allowed
to follow the i r n atu ral instin c t s but wh o ar e coerce d to act
mor ally by a s ystem conceive d as exte rnal an d impose d by some
e fficient authority Wh at B entham r eally does i s to substitute
the l egal san ction as hi s prop to mora l ity ( he p racti cal ly igno res
th e e fficacy o f th e other sanct i ons ) whi ch en fo rce d its di ctates
by civ i l and cr i minal rew ards and pun i shments H e r elies on th e
m aj e sty o f th e l aw to sa feguar d failing hum an natu re as Pal ey
rel ie d on th e th eologi cal sanction m ani fe st through th e will o f
G od
B ut sel f inte rest no m atte r h ow enlight ene d was not an en d
fitt ed for a r e form pl atfo rm N o r coul d ut i l i ty for promoting
se l f interest serve as an ultimat e cr i te rion for l egisl ative and
l egal p ro ce ed i ngs I t S e rve d as B entham s point o f de p artu re
but w e find another p rincipl e adopt ed as h is ultim ate m oral an d
l egal criterion Th is i s th e gre atest h appin ess o f th e greate st
”
number wh ich becam e th e wa t chw ord o f the util itar ian re form
ers
I n a n ote to th e new ed ition of th e Principles o f M o ral s and
“
L egi s l at ion publ i sh e d in 1 82 8 B entham states t h at th e great
est happin ess princ i pl e h as b ee n adde d t o th e o rigi nal p rin cipl e
”
o f utility a s the sou rce o f happ i ne s s an d con sequ ently o f or al s
“
H e defin es it as that p rincipl e wh ich states th e greate st h appi
nes s o f all thos e wh ose interest i s in th e que s tion as b eing th e
right prope r and only right p r ope r and universa lly desi rabl e
end o f human a c t i on
an d i n particul ar i n that o f a
fun ction ary o r s et o f functionari es exerc i s ing th e pow er o f
42
G overnment
Th e reason g i ve n for the c han ge from ut i lity
as a p rin c ipl e to th e greatest happ i nes s p rin cipl e i s that th e
latte r appl i e s to a great er numbe r o f peopl e and that it a ffo rds a
“
standard o f r i ght and w ron g by which al one the propri etary o f
”
human conduct i n every s i tuat i on can with propri ety be trie d
Utility recogni sed a s a pri n c ipl e making for som e form o f well
being was th e step tow ar d defining a concr et e st andard o f mo ral
j udgm ent s whi ch th e u til i tarian s took i n advance o f the earl ie r
ral i s t i c
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B e n th am s C oll ec t e d W or ks I p
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T H E CON CE P T OF U T I LI T Y I N EN GLI S H E T H I C S
43
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hedonists an d the ration al ists B ut utility i n itsel f is vagu e We
“
must ask ut il ity fo r wh at " fo r my happ ines s " for th e gene ral
well being " and w hat i f th e gene ral well b e ing confl icts w it h my
”
"
happin ess
I n B entham s own account o f h uman n atu re the se
43
two pri ncipl e s may cl ash fo r he admits that ben evol ence is
also a m ot ive i n con duct as w ell a s th e attainment o f pl easure
B ut in the inte rest s o f p ractical l egisl at ion h e s ubstitute d th e
“
”
greatest happi n es s o f th e gre ates t n umbe r fo r thi s shadowy
”
“
”
util ity fo r th e P ubl ic G ood o r e ff ective benevolence
The
logi c o f this substitution has o ften b een qu est ioned an d rest s o n a
“
form o f th e w ell know n log ical fall acy o f composition
E very
man d e s i re s h i s own greatest happ ine ss E very man attain ing
hi s own gre atest h app ine ss woul d b ring about th e gre atest h ap
T he re fo re every man des ires
p i n e s s o f th e gre at est number
th e gre ate st h appi ne ss o f the great est number I n oth er wor ds
a p rincipl e th at o f ut il ity defined as Operat ing i n a pu rely sel fish
bei ng in a pu rely s elfish way i s m ade to s erve th rough a fall a
ci ou s a rgum ent as an altru isti c p ri nciple whe reby th e i ndivi du al
is moved to act fo r th e gr e at est h appi nes s not o f hims el f but o f
“
”
the greate st n umber
S u p e rfici al l y consi de re d B entham pass e d by me ans o f th i s
falla c y from th e indivi du ali st i c p oi nt o f v i ew o f the e ight eenth
centu ry t o th e organ ic concept o f so c i ety o f th e n inete enth M an
is no longe r concei ve d as an isol ate d u nit working only toward
hi s own end but as inext ricably bou n d by hi s vari ous s ocial re
”
l at i on s w ith th e goo d o f th e
greate st n u mbe r
I t w as for
“
J ohn S tu art M ill t o p oint out th at greatest n umbe r i s still not
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B en th am s D e on t ol ogy p 1 4 0
C on d u c iv en e ss t o h appi n ess b ei n g
th en t h e t e st o f vi r t u e an d al l h appi n e ss b e i n g comp os e d of ou r own
h appi n e ss an d th at of oth e r s t h e p r od u c ti on of ou r own h appi n e ss i s
p ru d ence t he p r od u cti on of t h e h appi n e ss of oth er s i s e ffe ctiv e b e ne v o
l e nce The t r e e of vi r t u e i s th u s divid e d i n t o t wo g r e at st e ms ou t of
”
whi ch grow al l t h e oth e r b r an c h e s o f vi r t u e
“
The I Og i c of t h e g r e at e st h appi n e ss p r i n c ipl e is an al ys e d by G E
M oor e i n his P r i n c ipi a E t h i ca ( C amb r idg e
C h ap I s ecti on s
”
1 2 1 5 ; an d i n S idgwi c k s
M e th ods of E thi c s ( M acmill an ) 6th e diti on
Bk I C h ap I I I s ec ti on s 2 3
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T O T AL U T I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DG M EN T
44
.
th e w h ol e an d that though con si deration fo r the m aj ority was
an advance ove r m e re consi deration fo r the indivi dual st ill such
a designat ion was not j us t in th at it excl uded th e minority from
moral cons ider at i on on th e part o f th e comm unity B entham
“
as serte d th at e ve ry man count e d fo r on e an d no m an fo r m ore
“
”
than one i n th e p ubl ic will but when t h e g reate st numb er had
“
b een dete rm ined th e lesser numbe r s not only ce as ed to cou nt
”
for one but fail ed t o count at al l
B ut p racti cally by th i s argument B enth am e scap ed th e i n con
v en i en t co ns equ ence s o f th e n atu ral isti c pos ition and at the s am e
time p ropos e d a p ractical an d definite standard to whi ch all plan s
fo r re fo rm might b e submitted C ertain l aw s B enth am saw to be
wrong ; c ertai n con ditions i n so ci ety are w rong b ecau se they d o
”
“
not m ake fo r th e gr eatest h appi nes s for th e gre atest numbe r
C ertain re forms law s o rdin ance s a n d innovations ar e right
becau se they tend to b ring abou t th e great e s t happin es s
To sum up for ou r pu rpo se B enth am s po sition i n the Util itarian
developm ent i n o rd er to estimate th e extent to whi ch h is theory
d epends on a n atu ral i sti c inte rpretation o f human nature an d the
degree i n wh ich h e abandon s this po sition i t i s n eces sary to point
to c e rtai n obvious featu res o f his th eo ry an d p er force to i gnore
much o f h is most val uabl e c ontribution to th e intelle ctu al d eve lop
m ent o f hi s time F i rst : H i s accou nt o f motivation i s pu rely
natu ralisti c M an i s moved to act by hi s i deas o f pl eas u re and
pain ; th e mo re i ntense dete rm ining hi s cou rs e What i s pl eas ant
i s good an d what i s pain ful is evil The re fo re w ith pl easure
p ain as th e s ource o f mo ral approval there is no pl ace fo r moral
j udgment within the sph e re o f hum an n atu re S econdly : M oral
j udgm ents and mo ral choices ex i st an d are n e ce ss ary to ins ure
the end which by mean s o f th e fallacy o f compos ition i s postul ated
“
for the individu al ; nam ely th e greates t happi nes s o f th e greatest
”
numbe r
C ertain extra s el fis h motives foun d to be among the
S p rings o f action an d to m ake for th e gre atest happine ss a re
n eve rth eless at th e m ercy o f the stronge r and mo re num erou s
sel f regarding motives The re fore to sa f eguard thes e extra sel f
i sh motives as social fact ors m0 ral i ty i s en fo rce d by th e l egal
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T H E CO N CE P T OF UT I LI T Y I N ENGLI S H E T H I C S
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sanction by m eans o f rewards an d puni shm ents S o far B en
tham is a pu re he doni st chained by t h e n atu ral i stic hypothes i s
to a selfish inte rp retation o f m an an d to an exte rnal an d con v en
t i on al account o f mo rality
B ut be ing by natu re a re fo rm e r an d by p ro fe ssion a colle ctor
o f facts and a m ake r o f codes Be ntha m di d not a dh e re too
stri ctly to h i s system H e catalogue d th e extra s el fis h motives in
hi s ethical theo ry as vari ation s o f the pleasu res o f sympathy an d
thu s natu ral istic but h e accounte d fo r th em p ractically i n su ch
a way that h e m ade i t possibl e fo r th e last great util itarian J ohn
Stuart M ill to adopt th e B entham po i nt of departu re an d still
to free util itarian eth ics from its ol d he do ni stic and n atu rali st ic
elem ents Th e most impo rtan t concept o f a non natu ral istic
natu r e whi ch B entham w as d riven to adopt i s th e con cept o f an
ideal en d Th i s en d in cont radi stin ction to th e rational i stic mode
o f thought has a con c rete content : I t i s h appi nes s for th e i ndivi d
ual not pl easu re i n the s en se o f sen sation B ut as th e individual is
a nonentity apart from h is so ci al relat ion s it i s th e happiness o f
soci ety I n the cas e o f confli cting i nte rests so ci ety i s dete rmin ed
nume rically Th e rul e o f th e maj ority obtain s o r th e greatest
”
happine ss o f th e great es t n umb er
Th e s i gn ificant poi nt i s
that having step p e d with qu estionabl e logic from th e concep t o f
“
”
greatest happi ne ss as a per sonal en d to gre atest h app iness as a
soci al end B entham conce ives th i s to b e a r egu l a ti ve i deal whi ch
at on c e gu ides the con du ct o f a mo ral i n divi dual and outlines a
policy fo r th e l egi slato r i n fo rm ul at ing the l aw s o f soci ety Thi s
n s
social and i de al e nd mo reover i s th e e s sential feature o f ma
mo ral n ature I t i s not as in P al ey s system a supe rh um an o r
supernatu ral d es ign reve al ed to human beings through th e sen sa
tion o f pl easu re pai n
F u rthe rmore with an e n d i n vi ew any action o r l aw m ay be
re fe rre d to the singl e p rin ci pl e o r crit erio n utility fo r j udgment
as to its adequ acy as m ean s t o th e en d Th is i s i n Sharp contra
“
distinction to the earl i e r h edoni s ti c vie w o f a haph azard exc es s
”
o f pl e asu re ove r pain as d et erm i ni ng th e di rection o f activity
A s m en are rational as well a s s e nti ent beings they estimate the
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TO T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DGM EN T
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rel ative val ue s o f variou s pl e asu re s in a cal cul us o f pl easure an d
pain The con cept o f such a cal culus impl ies that the re i s pr es
ent in cons ciou sne ss numerou s de s i r es wh ich m ay b e arrang e d
i n a scale according to th ei r intens ity an d dur ati on Th e rational
i n dividual m ay thu s calcul ate th e result o f any cou rs e o f action
by applying th e criterion o f ut ility t o det erm in e which o f seve ral
cou rses o f action o r whi ch o f seve ral pl easu res w il l s atis fy the
most intens e and m ost continuous desires an d thus attain th e
gr eatest total happi ness The s e thre e con cepts that of a regul a
t i ve i deal o r end o r a c rite rion o r standard o f j udgment and o f a
scale o f de s i res fo rm i ng a total o f all desi res are concepts whi ch
though t ru e o f actual m ental an d moral activity p roce e d from
som e hypothes i s other than th e natu ral isti c p sychology
The d efin i t e n es s an d l egal exactness o f B entham s mind and
th e extrem e p re cis ion o f h i s m etho d rende re d a real s ervi ce to
th e eth i c al thought o f h i s day Th e theo ry o f moral s was strug
gl ing i n tu rbule nt wave s o f two great st reams o f th ought ration
al i s m and empi r i ci s m w e re m eeting and amalgamating to the
destruction o f all s ystem B enth am ticketed human attribute s
an d pow ers a n d pigeo n hol ed them in his system wh e re they
might b e imme diately foun d wh en wanted I n so doing h e m ade
clear th e util itarian po s iti on I t was not as h e thought it a final
con s i stent ethical th eo ry bu t a tran sition from th e earli er
ab stract external aspec t o f hum an nat ure to a m or e moral mo re
pro found view o f the ide al o f human con duct as th e r eal isat ion
o f personali ty The fact may n ot b e dis regarde d that though
util i tarian eth i cs rested on an in adequate concept o f human natur e
i t s great s ervi ce to th e th eo ry o f mo ral s l ay in th e fact that it
again conn ected m an w i th h is act iv i ti e s ; it recognis ed that th e
h i ghest human qu al it i es were exh ibit ed i n soci al relatio n s ; it gave
a content to the concept o f the end o f l i ving and a d efinit e and
practical crite rion o f r i ght and w r ong action
B entham s contr i bution to util i ta ri an th eory was hi s m ethod ;
his s er v i c e to t he p r ogre s s i v e party o f th e day lay i n codi fying an d
tabulating cu rrent id eas o f mo rality and putting them into a
conc i se form t o b e appl i ed p ra c ti cally H i s immediate use fulnes s
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T H E CO N CE P T OF U T I LI T Y I N EN GLI S H E T H I C S
47
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unlike that o f th e othe r util itarian s how eve r was confin e d to
hi s study H e was a reclus e by natu re l iving apart f rom m en
an d a ffai rs an d was temp eramentally u n fit t ed fo r dealing effec
t i v e l y w ith p racti cal p robl em s
Hi s one attempt to p ut hi s
“
”
s chem es into p ractic e an d manage a P anopticon o r mo del p ri son
was a complete failu re whi ch i nvolve d him i n s eriou s finan ci al
diffi cultie s B ut the re fo rm phase o f u tilitari anism cannot b e
adequately app reciate d w itho ut som e m en t i on of J am es M ill
B entham s li euten ant a n d ri ght h and m an w h o b ecame th e
practi cal leade r o f that small but e ffective body o f m en cal le d
”
“
“
”
th e Util itarians
B e ntham was the codi fying an imal J ohn
Stuart M ill a th eo rist an d a d reame r but J am es M ill was a l eade r
o f men H e w as p reem in ently a teache r a p ropagan dist an d a
re fo rme r H e breathed controversy an d revell ed in antagoni sm
Though h e adde d nothi ng n ew eith er to th e knowl e dge o r the
theo ry o f hi s times h e p ut i nto p ractice the p rin cipl es he l earn e d
from othe rs an d imbue d all hi s imme diate associates an d an
eve r wi dening ci rcl e o f di s cipl es with util itarian vi ews by his
own vigorous though n arro w e nunci ation o f B entham ite doc
trine s
Th e util itarians w e re e ve r a small and most unpopul ar m ino rity
but the el de r M i l l m anage d to ke ep th ei r vi ews an d thei r deman d s
fo r re fo rm be fo re the eyes o f th e B riti sh publ i c by hi s i n ces sant
personal ene rgy in teach ing writing and publ i c s peaking
I n th e younger M il l s A utobiography w e get a vivi d p ictu re
o f thi s ti rel ess i rritable an d dec isive pe rsonal i ty H e was ed u
cat e d i n S cotl and fo r th e C h u rch b ut i n th e cou rs e o f h i s studi e s
found that h e coul d not b el i eve th e doctrin es o f any c reed H e
gave up th e i de a o f t he mi ni stry cam e to E ngl and an d took up
j ou rnal i sm H e re h e b ecam e the intimate as so ciate o f B entham
Ri cardo M althu s H ume an d G rot e an d th rew th e whol e en ergy
of h is natu r e into p ropagat in g ut il itarian d oct ri nes
H i s mo ral
“
”
convictions
to quot e h i s son s autobiography w ere ve ry m uch
th e characte r o f the G ree k phil osophe rs an d we re del iver ed with
the fo rce an d decis i on whi ch ch aracte ri s e d all that came from
him I n hi s pe rsonal qual ities th e S toi c p re domin ated H i s
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TO T AL U T I LI T Y
48
A N D TH E
ECONO M I C J U DGM EN T
.
standar d o f mo rals wa s E p i cu rean in as m uch as it was util itari an
taking as t he exclusive te st o f right an d w rong the t enden cy o f
act i ons to p roduce pleasu re an d pain ; but h e had ( an d thi s was
the C yn ic el em ent ) scarc ely any b eli e f in pleasu res
h e wa s not i ns ens ibl e to pl easu re but decl ared very few o f them
wo rth the price whi ch at least i n th e present state o f society must
be pai d for them H e thought human l i fe a poo r thing at best
afte r th e freshnes s o f youth an d uns at isfied cu rios ity h ad gon e by
H e woul d sometimes s ay that i f l i fe w ere m ade what
i t m i ght be by goo d government and goo d education i t wo uld be
worth l i ving but h e never spoke w ith anyth ing l ike enthusiasm
”4 5
even o f that possibil i ty
Th is cu riou s contradi ction i n hi s nature i s evi dent in hi s
w ritings and in all hi s parti cipations i n publi c aff ai rs Th e
E p icu rean pl easu re pain philosophy was conj o i n ed to a rigid
S toical sen se o f duty an d sel f s acri fi ce fo r th e publ ic good H e
champion ed t h e greate st happiness p ri ncipl e a n d w as ruthl ess in
tearing dow n th e publ i c s cheri s hed ideal s an d prej u d i ce s espe
c i al l y in r egard to rel igiou s question s
H i s pecul iar pe rsonal b ias
has be en unde re st imated in its e ffect on the pop ul ar attitude to
ward ut i l it ar i ani sm J ame s M ill stood ou t amo ng al l h is associat e s
as th e p ract ical exponent o f B en tha mism H is inte rp retation o f
B e nth am s ethi cal po s ition b rought forth C arlyl e s rhodom an t ades
against that fo rm o f moral ity ; an d hi s i nterpretation o f Pol iti c al
“
E conomy earned fo r i t the nam e o f the d i smal sci ence
N everth el es s i t was through h i s ti rel es s spi rit an d h is in ces sant
propagan da that util i tarian theory became pa rt o f the ve ry fab ri c
o f E nglish pol iti cal
eth i cal and e c onom i c thought Th e small
body o f ut i l itarians pl ayed an impo rtant part i n the agita t i o ns for
re f o rm which c ulm i nated in th e Re fo rm B il l o f 1 83 2 i n th e A bol i
ti on o f the S lave Trade in 1 833 i n the l egal re fo rm s carried out
unde r B entham s pe rsonal super v i s i on and in th e questions o f
C hu rch an d eccl es i ast i cal re fo rm
I n hi s eth ical pos i t i on J am es M i ll i s an unquestioning pupil o f
B enth am whom h e eve r regarde d as h i s m aste r an d teach e r ;
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5
TO T AL U T I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DGM EN T
0
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int el lectual an d sp iritu al nat u re o f h i s eldest s on J ohn Stuart
M ill was t he t yp e o f m in d infin i tely suggestive when com ing at
the tu rn i ng po i nt o f an intelle ctual and m oral d evel opment H e
was an avowe d ut il itari an to th e en d o f h i s l i fe adhe ring to th e
pr i n c i pl es lai d down by B enth am an d champ ion ed by his fath er
B ut h i s n atu ral in st inct for truth l e d h i m to a de eper insight
i nt o the moral nature o f m an than w as compatible w ith t h e
theo ries h e right fully i nh erited
I t i s th rough h is work th at
E ngl ish eth i cal th eory em erged from th e artifici al shallow
thoug h p racti cally e fficient ph as e whi ch we h ave br iefly indi
H e is th e li nk in th e chain betw e en the ol d form an d th e
c at e d
n ew sp irit Util itari anism p re em inently the sci en ce o f con duct
fo r p r act ical advantages he p e rceive d t o b e inadequate as an
explanatio n o f what h e reco gn i sed as highest in human nature
I n s e eking t o fin d the gr ound fo r th e apparently ideal n atu re o f
c ertai n human att r ibute s he passed an d with h im E ngl ish ethical
theo ry fro m the ol d nat ural i st i c and m ech anical view o f h uman
natur e to an i deal o rgan ic and e ssentially moral ph ilosophy o f
conduct H i s w ork ha s su ffe red th e attacks wh ich mo dern eth ical
s chol ars have made on the whol e pl easu re p ai n ph ilosophy o f
mo rals an d c rit ics ha ve demoli shed mu ch o f h is construct ive
w o rk but it w as J oh n S tuart M ill who stimul at e d th e b est o f
mode rn ethical th ink ers and h ims el f pointed out th e w ay to th e
work they have accompl ish e d
I n the A u t obiogr aphy he give s an account o f hi s strange
chil dhood apart from othe r ch i l dre n o f hi s own age an d o f h is
s trenuous e ducat io n car ri ed on under the pe rsonal supe rvis ion
o f h is fath e r whi c h w as suppl em ented by te ach ing what h e
l earn ed to h i s younger broth ers and s i ste rs an d by taking
long walks w ith hi s fath er dur ing which he del ivered car e fully
prepare d dis cou rses upo n topi c s t ake n from hi s reading A t
fou rteen h e S pent a year i n F rance wit h S i r S am u el B entham
and hi s fam i ly the b roth e r o f hi s father s patron an d maste r
whe re h e breath ed fo r a whole year the f ree and gen i al atmo s
46
h
r
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o f C ont i nental li fe
an d gained hi s l i fe long i nte re st i n
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T H E CO N CE P T OF U T I LI T Y I N ENGLI S H E T H I C S
51
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F renc h political i deas O n hi s retu rn h e too k up hi s i ntell e ctual
wo rk w i th his father and w as i niti at e d into all phas e s o f utili
H e be cam e i n time an arde nt student an d d isc iple o f
t ari an i s m
B entham and th e most emi nent exponent o f hi s doctri n es A t
the age o f sixteen h e began to write fo r th e p res s and o rgani se d
a debating c l ub in wh i ch al l th e yo unge r membe rs o f the party
we re a ffili ated m any o f whom late r became prom inent pol itically
as the util itarian Radical s H i s whol e e nergy was turned as
was hi s fathe r s to p ropagating th at ph ilo sophi cal c reed whi ch
to his s ensitive and enthu siast i c tempe rament partook o f the
nature o f a religion
B ut the tu rn ing po int in h is caree r an d a s ignificant date in
the h istory o f E ngl ish ethi cs cam e wh e n he was about twenty
"7
years Ol d M ill had bee n studying w riti ng an d p ropagat ing
util it ar ian doctrines incessantly when i n th e autumn o f 1 82 6 h e
foun d h im sel f in a dull state O f ne rves when pl eas ure s b e came
”
insipi d an d ind i ff er ent
I n th i s state o f m i nd he p ut th e qu es
t ion directly t o him s el f S uppose th at all you r obj ects in l i fe
we re re al is e d an d tha t th e changes in i nst itut ions and Opinion s
which yo u are looking forward to coul d be compl etely e ff ecte d
”
at thi s ve ry instant wo ul d thi s b e a j oy an d ha ppi n es s to yo u "
A n d an i rresponsibl e sel f consciou sn es s distinctly answe red N o
A t t h i s he adds T h e whol e foun dation on which my l i fe w as
constru cte d fell dow n
H is traditional cod e h i s fath e r s l i fe
work the greatest h app ine s s p rinciple th e foundat i ons o f his
univers e crumbl e d be fore this one search ing questi on
I f th e
inst itution s wh i ch con st ituted h is whol e mo ral wo rl d shoul d su d
d enl y be com e pe r fected th ey woul d find hi m still mi s erable
Th e
systems codes and re fo rm s which h e an d h i s fell ow util itarians
had ardently plann e d ha d no sol ace fo r the i ndivid u al I t wa s
all external col d a n d passi onl ess and t o b e l abel e d greate st
”
happines s w as a b itter sati re
F rom th i s mental cri s is howeve r M ill re vive d w ith th e new
knowl e dge that th e pas s ive se n sibil iti e s n e eded to b e cultivate d
as well as th e active capaciti es and requ i re to b e nou ri sh ed an d
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5
TO T AL UT I LI T Y
2
AN D
T H E ECO NO M I C J U DGM EN T
.
en riched as w el l as gu i ded H e discover ed th at he had a soul
as well as a min d Th e m etho d o f h i s reco v e ry opene d up n ew
fiel ds o f i nte rest in p oetry an d imaginat ion I n con s equ ence of
an awakened aestheti c appreci ation h e fo rm ed the close st f riend
sh i p o f h is l i fe save on e w ith S te rl i ng a l over o f poet ry and
8
whom he de s c r i bes i n glow ing te rm s as th e
t he fine arts
mo s t l o v abl e o f men
Ste rling c on fe s s ed to h i m a fte r thei r
i nt im acy h ad r ipened th rough th eir mutu al i nte re st i n poetry
“
that h e and othe rs h ad always thought M ill a machine m ade
man un t i l they di s c o v ered t hat Wo rd s worth and all th e n am e
impl i ed belonged to him as w ell as to Ste rl i ng an d h i s f rien ds
Th e sign i fi cant point i n th i s b it o f pe rson al hi sto ry is that
“
unti l M i ll had pass ed through this experi en ce h e was a m achine
”
m ade man m anu fa c tu re d by h is fat h er on a B enthamit e mo del
“
”
to be a s ort o f th inking p rop agan di n g automat ; a c oll e ction
“
”
o f facts and t h eori es a s so ci ated togethe r on a utilitari an prin
A fter M i ll h ad lived through thi s h umani sing expe rience
c ipl e
“
wh ich h e call s O ne Step O nward in h is autobiography hi s
insigh t into l i fe w as sh arpene d and th e c haracter o f hi s eth i cal
spe culat i on take s on a n ew ph ase H i s d i vergence from B en
t h am i s m i s c o i nc i dent w ith an arou s e d int ere st in G erm an m eta
phy s ic s an d w i th a w i despread study o f the post K ant ian i de ali sts
The t rend o f eth i c al th i nk i ng af t er M ill is st r ongly i de al i sti c
in character and it woul d be h ard to d ete rmine w ith any p re
c i s i on the extent o f h i s infl ue n ce in th e foll owi ng decades
His
own contribution to th e theory o f mor al s i s in no s ense final
but it b ri dged th e gul f from th e ol d era an d lai d th e way for
th e new
Th is study d oe s not admi t o f a d etail ed exam ination o f M ill s
l ater work s
I t i s en ough for our pu rpose to in dicate three
es s ay s that gi v e h is gene ral pos i t ion Th e fir st i s the e s say on
Ut i l i tar iani s m an attempt made in 1 862 t o restate B entham s
e t h ical do ct rine s w i t h the result o f showing h ow far M ill h im
sel f had diverged fr om t h em B ut th ough in real i ty M ill de
parte d far f rom the or i g i nal ut ilitar i an point o f view i n h is
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T H E CO N CE P T OF UT I LI T Y I N ENGLI S H E T H I C S
S3
.
various i nte rp ret ation s o f the gr eat est happ ines s p ri ncipl e h e
rem ai n e d to th e en d o f hi s l i fe a lo yal s upporte r o f th e doctrine
“
an d ev e r cl aime d to b e a ut il it arian
“
I n h i s c h apte r o n What Ut il itari anism I s he in dicat e s v e ry
“
cle arly th e characte r o f th e great e s t happ iness p rincipl e an d
in it s eluci dation points out w ith e qu al cl ear ness m any th ings
“
which it i s n ot
Th e e n d wh ich accepts as th e f oundat ion o f
mo ral s util ity o r t he gre at est h appi nes s p rincipl e hol ds th at all
act ions are right a s th ey ten d t o p romote h app ines s w rong as
they ten d to p roduce th e r eve rs e o f happin ess B y happ in es s is
intended pl eas ur e and th e ab se nce o f pa in ; by u nh app ine ss pain
and th e privatio n o f pl eas u r e
the theo ry o f l i fe on
which this t h eo ry o f m orality i s gr ounde d
( is ) n amely
that pl eas ure an d f re edom from pain are t h e o nly t h i ngs de s i r
”
“
abl e as
Thi s i s the mach in e m ade M ill giving expre s
sion to h i s i nh e rite d doct rin e s B entha m h im s el f cou l d not h ave
excee de d th i s statem ent fo r d efi n i t en e s s
B ut in el abor ating th i s view o f mo rality th e real M ill appears
an d expoun ds a f ar d i ffe rent theory o f con du ct f rom th e natu ral
i s t i c pl easu r e pai n ac count
I n replying t o C arlyl e s cha rge th at
“
suc h a pr in ciple is a doct rin e wo rthy o f s wine h e as serts th at
“
it i s quite compat ibl e with th e p rinci ple o f ut ility to recogn ise
t h e fact that som e ki n ds o f ple asu re s ar e more des irabl e an d
mor e val uabl e than oth ers
Pl easu res the re fore m ay be
ranged i n a scal e an d admit o f be ing j u dged as high e r o r lowe r
not me rely as mo r e o r l ess int en s e as B entham as se rte d M o re
ove r ther e i s a co rre spond i ng range o f facultie s i n th e i ndividu al
“
wh ic h are s u scept ible to th e variou s qual it ie s o f ple asur e
A
being o f hi gher facult i es requ ir e s mo re to m ake hi m h appy is
capabl e probably o f mo re acute su ffe ring and i s certai nly acces
sibl e to it at mo re point s th an one o f an i n fe r i o r typ e ; but i n
spit e o f th e se l i ab i l ities he c an neve r really wi sh to s ink into
what h e feel s to be a l ow er grade o f
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M il l
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U tilit ar i anis m p
pp 1 0 1 1
p 13
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A N D TH E
T O T AL U T I LI T Y
54
ECO NO M I C J U DG M EN T
.
The qual itie s o f h igher and l owe r in the scal e o f ple asu re s
are thus t ran s fe rred to the nature o f th e agent wh o p res umably
j u dges pl easu re s from s om e subj ective stan dard an d rej ects
“
tho se whi ch fall bel ow th is c rite rion hol ding that it is b ette r
to b e a hum an b eing d issatisfied than a p ig satisfied ; be tte r to
b e Socrate s diss at isfie d th an a fool sat i s fied
I t is in s uch state
”
ments a s these and the re ar e many i n th e Util itarian ism that
M ill shows that he ha s t aken a decis ive step away f rom the B en
I n j udging action the hum an being recognis es
t h ami t e position
a certain i nhe rent val ue i n h i s p ers on al ity an d he will rej ect
pl eas u res an d put away hap p iness i f he cons i ders it o f a qu al
“
ity degrading to h i s natu re The emph as i s i s no lon ger on feel
”
“
ing
s en s at ion
m an s e ffective natu re b ut o n th e desires
which imp el man to act an d th e n ature o f thos e d esires whe the r
”
“
“
o f a highe r o r lowe r character tending t o expre ss a better
“
”
o r wors e p e rso nal ity I n thes e cas es th e great est h appiness
principl e is defin itely s et aside th e acqu isition o f pl easu re i s
r ej e cte d as the sol e mot ive for act ion on a view o f the mo ral
l i fe as a de velopm ent o f per sonal ity A dhering l ogically to th e
util itarian hypoth esis the m an who rej ect s a great an d int ense
ple asu re as be ing o f a cha racte r u nworthy o f h is n atu re comm its
an act io n contrary to the greate st happine s s p ri ncipl e and so
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i mmoral
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'
Recogni sing that it is con cei v ab l e for th e in divi du al to rej e ct
a p os s ibl e pleasure from moral con si der ati ons M ill takes anothe r
l ong st ep aw ay f rom h i s ori ginal hypothe si s an d ass ert s th at
u nquest i onably it is possibl e to do wi t h ou t happi nes s ; it i s done
invol untarily by ni nete e n twentieth s o f mankin d eve n i n thos e
parts o f ou r p re sent worl d w hich a re l east d eep in barbarism
and i t is o ften don e voluntarily by the h ero an d th e martyr for
th e sake o f som et hing wh ich h e pr izes more than hi s in dividual
”52
h appine s s
Th is am ounts to saying th at since t h e acqui sit ion
o f h appines s i s the end o f l i fe and the whol e content o f morality
n inete en twentieth s o f m an kind invol untarily and the h e ro and
martyr vol untarily h ave no obj ect in l iving and are outs i d e the
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T H E CO N CE P T OF U T I LI T Y I N EN GLI S H E T H I C S
55
.
pale o f mo rality Th i s i s a hard saying even fo r the so n o f
J ame s M ill
B ut whethe r th e m oral en d b e regarde d as th e c ru de ple asu re
o f th e earl i er utilitar i anism o r as a s ense o f d i gn i ty an d wo rth
as impl ie d i n the se ct i on s quoted M ill n eve rthel e ss som etim e s
lap ses to h is fo rm e r point o f view i n regard i ng m oral ity as an
external system I t is a body o f rule s o f conduct impo se d upon
53
the i n divi dual f rom w ithout
There m ust b e som e for ce com
pelling obe dien ce ; it must h ave some s anction
I n recasting
B entham s account o f th e san ction s t o m oral ity M ill followed
the t raditional code to th e extent o f finding two s anct ions to b e
ext e rnal The rel igiou s sanction uphol ds moral ity by means o f
th e hope s an d fears o f et e rnal bl is s o r m i se ry ; the legal sanction
ope rate s th rough the offi ce rs o f th e l aw by m e ans o f rew ar ds an d
pun ishm ent s B ut m or e fun dame ntal for M ill i s the intern al or
“
alt ru i st ic sanction a feel ing i n o u r m ind a p ai n m or e o r l es s
i ntens e attendant o-n viol ation o f duty wh ich i n p rope rly c ul
t i v at e d mo ral n atu re s r ises in mo re s e riou s case s i nto shrinking
from it as an impos si b il ity Th i s fe el ing wh en dis inte rested an d
con necting itsel f w ith th e pu re i de a o f D uty i s the es sence o f
”
C ons cience
B ut despite th e p recision o f this anti ut il itar ian
“
account o f the moral standard a s g rou nde d in t he con scientious
”5 4
feel ings o f m ankind
M il l re fuse s t o regard t h is as m an s
“
“
essent ial n atu r e but desc ribes i t as acquir ed an artificial crea
”5 5
“
”
tion
h eld togeth e r by moral as soci atio ns
but h owe v e r
“
“
natu ral i n the s en s e that there i s a basis o f sent iment for
“
56
utilitarian morality
in th e s oc ial f eel ings o f mankin d
T h e s ecret o f th e con fusion s an d cont radicti ons whi ch charac
Utilitariani s m l ies i n th e fact that two d efi
t e ri s e t h e e s say on
nite b ut antith etical i nterpret at ion s ar e p re sent in it The m ain
positions are cl ear th e m i nor threads o f argument are hopel essly
“
inte rwoven Th e ol d m ach in e made fabr ic o f Paley an d B e n
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TO T A L UT I LI T Y
6
5
A ND
T H E ECONO M I C J U DG M EN T
.
tham i s being patche d and rel i ne d w ith c l o
th o f anoth e r patter n
The fo rm er c oncept o f the en d o f l i fe as a sum o f pl eas ure i s
replac ed by M ill by a more p ro foun d c on cept o f th e aim o f living
as t he de vel opment o f p ersonal ity Th e psychological acco unt
o f man as a col lection of n atural p ass ion s an d r ation al facultie s
bound togeth e r b y l aw s o f habit and as soci ation gradu ally gives
place t o the view of human natu re as an organi c un ity express
ing itsel f i n action as w ill in thought as i ntellect an d un der
standing i n cre at ive form s as the expr essi on o f t he aesth e ti c
i deal b ut essent ially on e and d irecte d t o th e accompl ishm ent o f
it s own highest developm ent in accor dan ce w ith an i deal o f p e r
s on al i t y
gradually b ecom ing sel f conscious i n the p roce ss o f
57
l iving
Th e natu re o f moral ity al so su ffer s a du al interpreta
t ion F o rmerly regarded as an ext e rn al conventi on an d artifice
fram ed by selfish be ings to serve s el fish ends ; and yet i n some
inexplicabl e m an ne r compose d o f ext ra s el fi s h principles it is
“
now con c e i ve d as the expres s i on o f the cons cie ntiou s feelings
”
o f m ankind
M ill w ith all h i s insight n eve r p enetrat e d into th e
real ut il itari an d i fficulty H e n eve r connect s th e i ndividual with
“
soci ety except by some process o f as so ciat ion
Th is i s the
rem nant o f the H obbe si an po int o f V ie w exp res s e d i n B e nth am s
fam ous d i ctum E ve ry m an t o c ount for one and no on e for
mo re than one
With in the individual ar e mot ion s sp rings o f
a c ti on pri ncipl es et c al l cons idere d as s eparat e independ ent
an d uni for m onl y by h ab it an d associati on
C onve rs ely all
exte rior to th e indivi dual othe r men and institut ion s r oughly
“
”
“
”
summed up u n de r such term s as s ociety
government or
“
”
mo rality are cons ide red as ex t ern al an d as coe rcing man by
compul so ry s an ction s Th e concept o f h um an n atu r e as a n
o rgani c unity and i n tu rn as organically rel ated to soci ety as parts
w ith i n a whole i s m ade ex p l icit in E ngl i sh eth ical th eory aft er
the wor k o f J ohn S tuart M il l b u t th is poi nt o f Vl eW I S only
i mpl ie d in M i l l s ow n wr itings
B ut th e sou rce o f th e most pe rsistent contradict i on in the
”
Util itar i ani sm is the con fus i on wh ich M ill sh are s with eve ry
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T O T AL U T I LI T Y A ND T H E ECONO M I C J U DGM EN T
58
.
has b een attached to the i dea o f j ustic e i s du e to th e unde rlying
“
59
utilitar i an reasons whi ch have b een associ ated w ith i t
to
gethe r w ith the natu ral i nstincts o f s el f de f enc e and symp athy
”
“
I t i s an exampl e o f o ne o f M ill s C oll ections h el d togethe r by
l aws o f as so c i ation B ut i n arriving at thi s concl usion h e analyses
the i dea o f j usti ce wh ich he finds to be th e same thing as the p re
se rvation o f right s Thes e rights are som ething whi ch society
” 60
Th ey are ( 1 ) Rights
ought to de fend one in the pos ses sion o f
t o pe rsonal l i b e rty ; ( 2 ) Rights to Prop erty or wh at ough t to
belong to a person ; ( 3 ) Rights to J ust ice be fore the l aw ; ( 4 ) t o
the fulfilm ent o f C ontract ; ( 5 ) to i mp arti al ity an d ( 6) to equal
61
oppo rtunity
Th is analys i s o f j u stice an d rights diff ers i n no
way from m oral obligation i n gen eral except that it i s di rectly
“
connecte d with th e i dea o f p en al sanction whi ch i s th e essence
o f l aw
and enters not only into th e con ception o f inj u stice but
” 62
i nto that o f eve ry ki n d o f w rong
J ust ic e i s then that part o f
“
mo ral ity which th e p en al s anction en fo rces I t i s what some
” 63
i ndivi dual person can cl aim from us a s his moral right
The feel i ng howe v er which accompanie s the i de a o f j usti ce
“
”
though m ade up o f n atu ral impul s e s an d pr inci pl es o f exp edi ency
backed by th e l egal san ct i on stands for ce rtain mo ral requi re
m ents whi ch regarded colle ctively stan d highe r i n the s cale o f
soc ial util ity and are th ere for e o f mo re paramount oblig ation
” 64
than any oth ers
I n othe r wo rds the rights which M ill finds
en fo rced by the l egal san ction and wh i ch m ak e up ou r i dea o f
j ustic e are in re al ity th e c on di ti ons which a pe rson h as a right
to de man d i n vi rtu e o f hi s being a person J u sti ce is thus s een
”
not to be as sociat ed with moral ity but to b e the condition o f
mo rality
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T H E CO N CE P T OF U T I LI T Y I N ENGLI S H E T H I C S
59
.
T h is con cept o f J u sti ce implicitly stat ed in the Utilitariani sm
was h ow eve r the point o f departu re o f th e E ss ay on L ibe rty
Th e greatest ha ppi nes s p rin cipl e as the c rite rion o f
mo ral ity i s frankly a bandon e d in th i s plea fo r the rights o f the
mi nority A s w e h ave pointed out be fo re th e p ri n cipl e o f th e
greatest happines s to th e great est n umbe r logically appl i e d woul d
excl u de th e m ino rity from mo ral consi deration o r f rom th e s ym
pathy w h ich B entham u neasi ly recogni se d a s a hu m an attribute
“
”
T h i s s entiment o f sympat h y fo rce d th e earl i er Utilitarian s
“
to recogn i s e th e rights o f th e mi no rity i n admitting th at every
”
man should count as on e an d no m an as mo r e than one be fo re
the p ri n cipl e o f greate st happines s i s appl ie d A fte r its applica
tion , th e m ino rity disapp ears f rom mo ral con sideration J oh n
Stuart M ill s app e al fo r the p rotect io n o f th e mi no rity f rom th e
“
tyranny o f th e m aj o rity i s not based on th e greatest happi nes s
“
”
princi pl e b ut on Util ity in th e l arges t sen se grounded on the
” 65
perm an ent i nte r ests o f mankind as a p rogress ive being
The
“
obj ect o f the e ssay is to assert the p rin cipl e that th e sol e end
fo r whic h m ankin d is w ar ranted i ndivi dual ly o r coll ectively i n
inte r feri ng w ith the l ibe rty o f action o f any o f thei r numbe rs i s
” 66
“
sel f p rot e ction
L ibe rty i s not c ha mp ion ed to p romot e pl e as
“
u re o r th e gre ates t h appin e ss but as the con dition o f man s
“
indivi dua l ity th e h ighest an d most h armon iou s d evelopment o f
”
hi s pow ers to a compl ete an d con si stent whol e
L iberty o f
thoug h t and expre ssion as th e condition o f th e developm ent o f the
i n dividual are th e right s o f man not b ecaus e such rights are
”
“
arbitrarily s an ctioned to in su re h appin es s but i n vi rtu e o f
man s id eal o f wo rth as bei ng t h e condition s o f th e fre e develop
“
ment o f pe rsonal ity
A mong the works o f man which h uman
li fe i s rightly empl oyed i n pe r fe cting an d b eauti fying the first i n
” 67
importance s u rely i s m an h imsel f
M or e ove r l iberty i s not o nly th e con dition o f th e in di v idual s
d e v e lopme nt but it i s th e condition o f t h e wel l bein g o f soci ety
“
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J S M ill E ss a y on L ib er ty p
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M ill E ss ay on L ib e r ty p 3 3
p 34
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T O T AL UT I LI T Y
60
A N D TH E
ECONO M I C J U DGM EN T
.
I n the E s s ay on th e S ubj ection o f Women th e p rincipl e on
whi ch i s b as e d th e whol e argument o f thi s fi rst famou s pl e a for
”
Woman s Rights i s no t the gr e ate st happiness for women but
” 68
“
th e claims o f human be ings a s s u ch
for equal ity as the co ndi
tion o f the ir greate st d evelopment Thi s o r i ginal argument for
th e equ ality o f the s exe s doe s not even exh ibit th e t erminology
o f M ill s inherite d doct rine L iberty and equal ity are u rged for
“
th e n erve an d sp ring which it pre sents to th e intell ect an d feel
i ngs the more u seful publ i c spi rit an d calme r an d broa der sens e
o f duty that it engen ders and the gen erally lofti er p l at rm on
whi c h it el evates the indivi du al a s a moral spiritual an d socia l
” 69
be ing
M il l s position i n E ngl i sh ethi cal d evelopment may b ri efly be
summe d up by not i ng t hat though h e con sciously postul at ed th e
“
”
machin e m ade util itarianism o f th e B entham ite perio d as h i s
theo ry o f morals yet when h e tu rne d to exam in e practi cal eth ical
p robl em s such a s th e right o f th e mino rity to fre edom and the
right s o f women o f equ al oppo rtun ity w ith men h i s a rgum ents
p roceed u ncons ciou sly from a ve ry di fferent view o f human
H e recogn ise d the o rgani c nature o f m an an d h is
n atu re
o rgani c place i n S o ciety H e vi rtually conceived o f th e moral
end as th e fulles t development o f pe rsonal ity an d th at su ch an
end can only be re al is ed i n soci ety whi ch conditions th e exe rcise
o f the highest hu m an faculti es M oral ity th e re fore in stead o f
b eing consi dere d as an external and conventional co de in som e
way impose d on the natural impul s es o f th e i ndivi dual b ecom es
th e exp ression o f hi s inn er i deal o f worth in ch aracteri sti c human
action o r condu ct
This vi e w o f morality i s vi rtually th e position o f the s el f
real isation s chool o f ethics which appear s i n th e l ast h al f o f th e
nin eteenth centu ry and find s its exp res sion i n the wo rks o f G re en
M ui rhead B radley an d oth ers A s w e note d in th e i ntrodu ctory
“
chapter the years afte r 1 85 9 and th e publ ic ation o f the O rigi n o f
”
Sp ecie s we re year s o f controversy M il l h ad carri ed ethical
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p 1 67
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L ippi ncott
Co
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T H E CO N CE P T OF U T I LI T Y I N EN GLI S H E T H I C S
61
.
theory beyond natu ral i sm B ut natu ral ism re ceived strong rei n
forcements fro m the doctrine o f evolutio n whi ch s eeme d to o ffe r
anothe r form o f n atu r al isti c interpretation fo r the d evelopment
and there fo re fo r th e ex i stenc e o f mo ral phenomena B ut the
evol utionary principl e which was rightly felt to b e e ss ential to
s cientific an d soun d moral spe culation cam e to E ngli sh ethi cs
through anothe r chann el an d was p re sente d a s a foundation
con cept in H egeli an i deal ism
Thi s bo dy of ~t h eory off set to
a marked degre e any ret rogre ssive ten den cy fo r ethi cs th at m ight
come w it h D arwi nian n atural i sm
Th e inte rest i n G e rman m e t aphysi cs whi ch had b ee n s t i mu
lated i n E ngl an d by C ol eri dge an d C arlyl e st rength en ed an
al read y existi ng bo dy o f n ati ve E ngl ish i deal i stic S p eculat i on
wh ich had been maintai n ed i n u nb roke n l i n e from H erbert o f
C herbu ry H enry M ore an d the C amb ri dge Platon i sts through
Sha ftesb u ry H utch inson Rei d an d othe r m embers o f the S cottish
C ommon S ens e S chool I n the cou rs e o f thi s indepen dent
developm ent ce rtai n con fus ed co ncepts whi ch h ad cau s e d H obbes
in the s eventeenth centu ry to tu rn from rational i sm to n atu ral i sm
to explain th e fact o f mo ral ity had become defin ed a n d cl eare d
o f ambiguity Th e di ffe ren ce b etw e en the i nt e ll ectu al an d mo ral
ideal o r en d o f act ion h ad b een poi nte d o ut by H en ry M ore
T h e e s senti al di fferen ce betw een th e i nt ell ectu al and moral
faculti es had be en i nco rpo rate d in th e ve ry stru ctu re o f E ngl i s h
ethical thought by H ume C u dwo rth had sharply distingu i s h e d
between i nnat e an d sel f evi dent mo ra l t ruths and th e S co t tish
S chool h ad po i nte d out th e di ffe ren ce b etw een th e mo ral id eal
inherent in the w i ll an d mo ral p ri n cipl e s o r gene ral isation s m ade
f r om ob se rving acts o f conduct Thus the re w a s pre s ent to the
n i neteenth c entu ry th inke rs a pos itive body o f i deal istic th eo ry
Wh en this an d the n ew con cept s o f th e o rgani c natu re o f man
coming f rom th e ri ch fiel d o f biologi cal an d e v ol ut i onal the ory
passed b e fore th e fin e spi ritu al insight o f a M arti neau and
th rough th e pow er ful analytical i ntellect o f a G re en th e s el f
real i sation vie w o f mo ral s b ecam e not m e rely a b ran c h o f ph i los
on
i
op hy but th e s i n e
h
h
il
o
s
0
c
o
f
al
l
specul
ati
I
t
has
u
a
n
o
n
p
p
q
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T O T AL UT I LI T Y AND T H E ECONO M I C J U DG M EN T
62
.
been cal l ed H egel ian from its vi ew o f hu m
an l i fe a s pro cee ding
from d i m impuls e to cons ciou s sel f re al isation thus t nan s cen di n g
each acqui red step i n the develop m ent o f n ew activitie s and n ew
hu man pow ers
I t is mo re co rre ctly name d A ri stot elia n as it
regards human li f e as m aking re al th e pot e nt i al moral i deal
impl anted back o f o r unde r o r p rior to all cons cious m ani f e sta
tions i n th e h uman w ill
T o make C l ear th e r e lation o f t h is V i e w o f ethi cs with th e th e o ry
o f val ue appear i ng I n th e relative shorte r cou rs e o f economic
development it i s n ece ssary to state th e main pos ition very
b ri efly Th e en d o f human conduct th e ground fo r whi c h any
fo rm o f action i s undertake n i s conceive d as an i deal o f develop
able pe r s on ality wh ich i s a n integral part o f hu man natu re an d
gradu ally be com e s explicit i n cons c i ousn ess Th e sel f i n acti vity
appears as will Refl ection upon acts o f will make u s gradually
consciou s o f the typ e o f per s on w e wish to be com e o r i n oth er
words t o know the natu re o f ou r mo ral i deal To th e extent
that th e i deal i s cons ciou sly kn own it constitutes a stan d ard o f
j udgment wh i ch i s i mm ed i ate an d which w e apply di re ctly to
ph enomena to e stimate thei r moral worth Th e moral j udgment
i s the immed i at e a ppl ication o f an i d eal standard to a fact o f con
“
duct I t is the ought whi ch j udges th e actual in t h e l ight of
th e i deal ; not the i s o r intell ectual j u dgment wh i ch rel at e s a
pe rceive d fact to a coherent st ru ctu re o f knowl edge T h e moral
faculty there fo re i s t h e s el f applying the i deal imm ediately in a
j ud gm ent o f con duct
M oreove r th e i d e al o f s el f o r th e stand ard o f vi rtu e al ways
appears on refl ection as a complete d concept even though w e
know that it becomes i nc reasi ngly definite an d full o f content
with every act o f w ill and every mo ral deci sion o r cho ice A s
such it is a regulative ideal conce ived a s a total i n con sc iousnes s
ove r agai nst whi ch w e measure th e val ue o f conc rete acts
We
“
”
say such a thought o r action w as o r was not worthy o f u s
I n thi s c as e we a pply the standard to th e act o r w e meas ure the
act w ith regard to its pl ace i n the tot al Thi s latte r concept o f
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T H E CON CE P T OF U T I LI T Y I N EN GLI S H E T H I C S
.
63
th e Total an d M easu re whi ch is the es s ence o f th e A ri stotel ian
ethic s o f th e E n d an d th e M ean E ngli sh ethi cal theo ry arrive d at
after struggl i ng two centu ri es against th e fatal con sequ en ces o f th e
external an d m echanical devi ces o f n atu ral ism Th e impo rt o f
thi s con cept b ec om es o f sup reme i ntere st to u s i n noting th e e ffect
on econom i c th eo ry o f the sam e natu ral is ti c hypotheses
,
,
.
.
CHA PT E R I I I
TO T AL U T I LI T Y
A N D TH E
.
E CO N O M I C J U DG M EN T
.
We are now i n a position to compare crit i cally ce rt ain un de r
lying concepts i n mode rn ethi c s an d modern economic s an d to
note the rel ation betwe en t he s e two b ranche s o f huma n specul a
t i on e ach of wh i ch pu rports t o explai n human activity acco rding
t o certai n postul ates B riefly to recapitulate we have s een that th e
trend o f eth ical th i nking i n th e E ngl i s h grou p o f m oral i sts has
b een aw ay from a n atu ral isti c int erp retat ion o f hum an nature
an d aw ay f rom an external an d mechanical vie w of soci ety gov
I t has tende d t oward an ideal ist ic
e rn m en t and inst itutions
po s i tion in wh i ch human a c t i v i ty or th e ope rat ion o f the w ill
i s the obj ective expres sion o f an i mm ed i ate ideal o f pe rsonality
Regarding such a ph i los ophy o f h uman activity from the point
o f v i ew o f t he E n d w e m ay c all it I d eal i s m as th e en d which
any act o f con duct seeks to real i s e i s an i deal implant ed in the
w i ll not a generali sa t ion from th e data o f exp eri en ce though
gaining content by the ope ration o f th e function ing s el f in the
data o f expe r i ence L ook i ng at th e var i ous f orms o f hum an ac
t i v i t y or th e will i n ope rat i on th i s v i ew o f hum an c onduct m ay
be called Vol u n t ar is i n o r t he i nterpre t ati on o f eth i cal moti ve i n
te rm s o f wi ll as oppo s ed to I n t e l l ec t u al i s m o r th e i nte rpretation
o f eth ic al motive in terms o f intell ect
C o i nc ident w ith th i s d evelopment i n E ngl i sh ethics economi c
th e ory passed i n its turn f rom it s pu rely obj ective stage o f de
scriptive studies i n in dustri al an d comme rcial con dition s to s eek
fo r th e fun damen t als o f th e s ci ence and especially to s eek an ex
p l ana t i o n o f th e phenomena o f v al u e i n the psychologi cal n ature
o f man
Theoreti c al e conomi cs s eeks to account fo r man s char
ac t e ri s t i c action s i n th e wo rl d o f natural go od s and l i mited supply
from th e nature o f h i s inne r n e c e s s it i es an d de m ands not from
th e f or t uitou s arrangement o f th e natu ral good s th ems el ves M o re
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( 64 )
TO T AL U T I LI T Y
66
A N D TH E
ECONO M I C J U DG M EN T
.
amount o f l abou r exp en de d i n p roducing the good bu t th e
a mo unt o f oth e r m en s l abour which the goo d can comman d in
exchange an d that i n thi s aspect only can labou r be sai d to be
That i s th e valu e o f a good to the owne r
a measu r e o f valu e
o r the p r oduce r rep resents the am oun t o f toi l an d di sutil ity it
can ward off B oth i nterpretat i on s rest on a concept o f the
calcul ab il ity o f pl easures an d p ains ; on the fact that th e pleasu re
or sati s fact ion derive d fr om th e us e or th e exchange power o f
the good i s i n some w ay comm ensu rabl e w ith the labou r and pain
o f p ro duc ing it
Ri cardo ac cept ing A dam Sm ith s cost rather than h i s com
ma n d theory pointed out that i f l abou r w e re to s e rve as a uni
ve rsal c r i te rion fo r val uation th e l abo u r cos t concept must be
m ateri ally modified I n the first plac e labou r co sts can neve r
meas ur e th e val ue o f absolutely scarce or compl et ely monopo
l i s ed goods
Thei r supply i s definitely l im ite d an d the ir value
“
”
is determ in ed by the st rength o f th e e ffe ct ual demand for
them S e condly th e el ement o f util ity o r u se fulnes s is o f para
“
I f a commodity were in no way u se ful
m ount imp ortance
it woul d b e destit ut e o f exch angeabl e value h owev e r
s carce i t m ight b e o r whateve r quantity o f l abou r might be
”4
necess ary t o p rocu re i t
Ricardo furth e r mo difie s the con cept
lab our costs as the m easu re o f val ue by d ra w i ng atten t ion to
th e fact ( 1 ) that labour di ffe rs in qual ity ; skil le d l abou r rec e iv
ing a greate r recompens e than u n s kill ed as it pro duces goods o f a
h igh er val ue ; ( 2 ) that the past l abou r wh ich went to pro duce
the t ool or implement with wh ich p re s ent l abou r works m u st b e
cal culate d w ith p resent labou r costs ( 3 ) that the varying degrees
o f du rabi l i ty o f the capital with whi ch l abou r i s comb i ned as
5
well as th e l abou r costs ar e determ ining factor s i n th e valu e
o f the fin ish e d p ro duct I n a l ette r to Mc Cu l l och Ri cardo ex
“
pre s s es h is modifie d l abour theory o f valu e as follow s : O bj ect s
o f util ity p roduce d by l abou r an d capable o f furthe r p ro duction
by the appl i cat ion o f mo re l abou r h ave normal val u es in pro
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D avi d Ri c ar d o P ri n cipl e s of P oliti cal E con omy
”
p 71
Le tt e r s t o Mc Cu l l och
4
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C h ap I
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S ec
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2
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TO T AL UT I LI T Y
AN D
T H E ECO NO M I C J U DGM EN T
67
.
po rtion to the total quantity o f l abou r re qu ire d to p ro duce them
exc e pt that the p ropo rtional ity i s d i stu rb ed by th e empl oym ent
”
with l abou r o f capital o f varying degree s o f du rabil ity
J ohn S tu art M ill th e last o f th e C l as si cal E conom ists as
h e was the last o f the Utilitar i ans adopted R i card o s mod i fi c a
tions to th e labou r theory o f valu e ( wh ich had now com e to be
calle d t he C o st o f Pro duction Th eo ry ) and appl ie d it to det e r
mine t h e val ue of economic goo ds wh i c h he d i vide d into th re e
groups : ( I ) s carc e goods or tho se abs olutely l im ited in quan
6
t i ty ; ( 2 ) goo ds freely r epro ducibl e by th e appl ication o f l abou r
and capital ; ( 3 ) goo ds wh ich may be increase d by th e appl ica
tion o f labour an d cap ital but with dim in ishing returns Val ues
”
“
whi c h M ill define s first as pu rchasing p ow er and l at e r as th e
”
ratio between deman d and supply i s det erm in e d i n the ca s e o f
th e first group o f goods by th e strength o f the e ff ectual deman d
as t h e s upply i s ab s ol utely l im ited Th e value o f th e th ir d group
which i ncl u des all agricultu ral go ods an d ma ny i ndu strial pro d
“
u ct s i s det e rm ine d by th e
cost o f th at port ion o f th e s upply
”
b rought to the m arket at th e greatest expens e o r by th e marginal
costs On ly the valu e o f fre ely rep ro ducibl e goo ds ( tho ugh M ill
“
conceive s th e category to e mb r ace th e m aj o r ity o f all th ings
”
that a re bought and sol d ) i s d ete rmined by l abou r co sts an d
“
exp e nditur e o r cap ital cost s T h us by th e mi ddl e o f the n ine
t e ent h centu ry w h e n M il l decl ared th at h app ily the re is nothing
i n the L aw s o f Va l ue fo r th e p res ent o r any future w riter t o
”
cl ear u p the po sitive body o f theo ry only logi ca lly a c c ounted
fo r the val ue o f fre ely rep roducibl e goods S carce goo ds good s
pro duced u nder monopoly con dition s goods p ro duced w ith
dimin is h ing retu rn s h ad to be valu ed according to othe r l aw s
whi ch we r e regarded as d evi ation s from o r except i on s t o th e
L aw o f L abou r C osts
F rom anoth er point o f vi ew thi s same tran s i tio n from an ob j ec
tive to a subj ective obj ective con cept o f valu e may be regarded
as the gradual re cognitio n o f th e si g nificance o f the facto r D e
man d and o f th e fun ctional relation b etwe en deman d an d sup
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P oli ti cal E conomy
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Bk I I I C h ap V
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S ee
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I
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TO T AL UT I LI T Y
68
A N D TH E
ECO NO M I C J U DGM EN T
.
ply
I ntim ately conn ecte d w ith th is recognition was th e grow
ing emph asi s on util ity first as an i nd i spens abl e facto r in val ue
l ate r as th e cr iterion o f val ue A dam Sm ith dism is se d the prob
l em o f ut i lity or Val ue in Us e with a wo rd and tu rne d to the
exclu sive consi de rat ion o f Val ue in E xchange Ricardo as w e
“
”
noted regarded utility not as th e m easure o f val u e but as
“
“
”
absolutely e ssent ial to it but fail ed t o an alys e th i s essent ial
8
or i ts rel ati on to dem an d M althu s was the first o f the E ngl ish
e c onomi st s to fo rmulat e what P ro f C ass el call s th e concept of
“
9
th e m e ch ani sm o f th e m arket
an d th e m utual de
”
f
n
o
f
th
e
d
i
fe rent factors ope rating i n it
Though
e
n
d
e
c
e
p
ad he ring to A dam Sm i th s L abou r C omm and theory o f valu e
in gener al i n the d eterminat ion o f market p ri ce h e co ncl udes
that th e v al ue o f commod i ti es in money o r th e i r p ri ces are
det erm ine d by the dem and fo r them ; c ompare d w ith th e supply
o f th em A n d th i s l aw appears to b e s o gene ral th at p rob ably
not a single in stance o f a change in p rice coul d be found wh ich
may not be s atis facto rily t race d t o som e previous ch ange in the
1 0
stat e o f deman d an d supply
M althus defin ed demand as the
”
but
w ill t o pu rch as e combine d w ith th e m e ans o f pu rchas ing
di d not analys e th i s facto r o f will i n valu e no r rel ate it to th e
current utilitari an di scus sions as to the m otives for vol untary
action
M alth us s P ri nci pl es o f Pol it i cal E conomy was publ i she d in
1 82 0 three years a fte r Rica rdo s wo rk o f the same na me and h ad
fa r l ess gene ral i nfl uen ce on th e e conom i c thought o f th e times
than the mo re forcibl e but l es s suggestive work o f h i s p rede
cesso r I n applying the L aws o f C o st to all the phenomena o f
valu e Ri cardo s imme diate follo w
ers tu rne d th ei r attention
7
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ill u mi n ati n g acc ou n t of t he d ev e l op men t of t he id e a of t he
f u nc ti on al r e l ati on ship b e tw ee n s u pply an d d e man d as appl i e d t o i n t er
e s t on capit al
Th e N at u r e an d N e c e ssity of I n t e r e st
s ee
by P r ofe ss or
G C ass el M acmill an
Co 1 9 0 8
Mal t hu s P ri n cipl es of P oliti c al E con omy C h ap I I S e c 2
1 c p 31
l c p 62
'
For
an
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TO T AL U T I LI T Y
ECON O M I C J U DG M EN T
A N D TH E
69
.
sol ely to probl ems o f exchange val u e an d to t h e n atu re o f the
“
obj e ctive facto r eco nom i c goods S enio r ( O utl in es o f Pol iti
”
cal E co nomy
i n stres sing agai n th e o rgani c conne ction
1 1
o f de man d and supply i n the dete rm ination o f m arket p ric e
app e ars as M althu s s logical s u cce sso r B ut h e su rpass e d his
maste r i n h is analysi s o f utility not a s an intrin sic qual ity o f
t h ings but as exp res si ng th e i r relation s to th e pain s and pleas
“
ures o f manki nd and hen ce th e nece s sary const ituent o f
”1 2
val u e
an d in attempt ing to fo rmulate som e l aw o f human
w ants an d d es i res wh ich m ight s e rve to account fo r th e vari a
tions o f the as ye t un an alys ed facto r demand S enio r s L aw of
Vari e ty gives u s th e first state ment i n mo dern e conomi c th eo ry
o f th e op e ration o f human wants i n te rm s o f quantitativ e varia
“
tion
O u r d es i res do n ot aim s o m u ch at qu antity as at diver sity
N ot o nly are there l im its to the pl easu re whi ch commoditi es o f
any given cl ass can a ff ord but th e pl easu re dimi ni sh es i n a rap idly
incre asing ratio long be fo re thos e l imits are reach ed Two
articles o f th e sam e ki n d w il l sel dom aff o rd twi ce th e pl eas u r e
o f on e an d sti ll l es s w i ll ten give five tim e s th e pleasure o f two
“
”
B an fi e ld s
C amb ri dge L e ctu res we re publ i shed i n
1 844 and containe d another p sychological gene ral i sation a s to the
“
ope ration o f h um an des ire s un de r th e titl e L aw o f th e S ub
ordin ation of Wants
P ro ceed ing from th e axiom that th e
sati s faction o f a p rimary want gives rise to a s e condary want h e
evolv e d the con cept o f a graduate d scal e o f hum an wants
In
proportion as foo d grows abu n dan t th e o the r wa nts ri se i n
impo rtan c e and a con stantly expand in g s eri es o f desi res i s awak
ened wh ich a re cla ss ified acco rdin g to th ei r di ffe rent grade s o f
press u re
A n exami n ation o f the natu re and inten sity
o f m a n s w ant s s how s that thi s conn ection b etw een them gives
to Politi cal E conomy i ts sc i entific b a s i s The first propo siti on
in th e th eory o f con sum pt i on i s th at t he s a t is facti on of e very
l ow e r wan t i n t he s ca l e cre a t es a d es i re of a hi gher chara c t er
.
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S en i or
P oliti cal E c on omy 6t h e diti on I n t r od u c ti on p 7
”
p 1 3 3 Q u ot e d f rom J ev on s
E n cy c l op aed i a M e t rop olit an a
Economy p 5 3
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P oliti c al
T O T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DG M EN T
70
.
B oth S enio r and B an fi el d took into ac count qualitative di ffer
ts o f
en c es i n want s s uch as p rimary an d s econdary wants o r wa n
a high e r o r lowe r o rde r an d quantitative di fferences I n th e i n t en
s i t y o f th e want felt o r o f the s atis faction exp erience d in sati s fy
i ng th e want
“
The s e L aws of S enio r and B an fi el d both c rud e and tentative
accounts o f th e psychology o f want s s erved as po i nts o f de p artu re
fo r J evons analysi s i n 1 87 1 o f th e subj ect factor o f dem an d i n
th e rati o o f val u e an d fo r his revol ution ary attitu de tow ard t h e
whol e content o f th e economi c th eory o f h i s time P roblem s o f
valu e an d p ri ce h ad b e en approach e d from th e si de o f co st
o f pro duction ; from th e si de o f Supply E xpre ssed sol ely in
the ph enomena o f valu e coul d not be explaine d
obj e c t ive t erm s
w i thout constant exception an d qu alifi c ation S carcity price s
“
”
monopoly p ri ces
fashion an d novelty p rices the high price
o f relatively us el es s th i ng s an d th e low p rice o f rel atively meces
sary things had c rea ted from th e tim e o f Ricardo to J ohn S tuart
M ill a body o f exception s greater than th e positive body o f l aw
I n the introduction to the first edition o f hi s Theory o f Pol iti cal
”
E conomy J evons t ak es i ssu e with the whol e b ody o f the s o call e d
“
“
class ical th eory o f hi s day
Wh en at l ength a t rue system o f
E conomics com es to be e stabl ish ed i t will be seen that that able
but w rong h eade d m an D avi d Ricardo shunte d th e car o f E co
n omi c Sci enc e onto a wrong l in e a l in e howeve r on wh i c h it was
fu rthe r u rged toward con fus ion by hi s equally abl e and wrong
head ed admi rer J ohn St ua rt M ill Th ere w ere econom ists su c h
as M althu s an d S enior wh o had a b ette r comp rehen sion o f the
t rue doct rin es ( though not f re e from th e Ri cardi an e rrors ) but
they w ere d rawn ou t o f th e fi el d by th e unity and infl uence o f the
”
Ricardo M ill S chool
J evons th en p roceeds to state h i s position
Val u e dep en ds
”1 4
i e on the re cogn i sed relation between
enti rely upon u tility
th e w ant felt fo r th e good ( D emand ) and th e amount o f t h e
go od availabl e ( S upply )
L abou r is foun d o ften to determine
1 3
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B an fi e l d
1‘
J ev on s
,
O r g an is ati on of I n d u st r y L ect u r e I I I p
T h e or y of P oliti cal E con omy C h ap I
”
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60
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TO T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DG M EN T
71
.
valu e but only in an i ndi re ct manne r by varying th e degr ee o f
utility o f the commo dity through an i ncreas e o r l imi tation o f
”
supply To fram e exact l aws then o f th e variation o f utility th e
subj e ctive facto r m ust b e c al cula ted as p reci sely as th e ob j ec
tive facto r : i n othe r wo rds feel ing s wants an d motive s m ust b e
meas u re d T he cal culus o f util itie s th en m ust d ep e nd on a cal
c u l u s o f pl ea su re pai n
S u ch a concept J ev on s fou nd el abo rated to the utmost d et ail
i n cu rrent util itari an ethi cs
Th e obj ect o f economi cs i s to
m aximi se h app in es s by pu rcha sin g pl easu re as i t were at th e
lowest cos t o f pain J evon s s t ates in his i ntroduction an d adds
“
I have no h esitation i n accepting the util itarian th eory o f mo ral s
whi ch doe s uphol d th e e ff ect upon th e happin es s o f mank i n d as
th e crite rion o f rig h t an d w rong
M y p resent pu rpos e
is accomplish ed in pointing o ut th e hi e rarchy o f fe el i ng an d
assigning a p rope r place to th e pl eas u re s an d pain s w ith w hi ch
t h e economi st deal s I t i s th e lowest rank o f feel ings wh i ch we
h e r e treat T h e calcul u s o f util ity aim s at supplying the o rdi
”1 5
nary wants of man at th e l east co st o f labou r
F ollowi ng
“
B en t ham s account o f th e ci rcumstan ce s wh ic h d etermin e the
amount o f a pl easu re o r pain J evon s foun d pl e asu re s and pains to
be quantit ies o f two dim ens ion s Th ey may b e meas u re d according
to i nten sity a n d du r ation M o reove r pl ea su re s m ay b e regarded
“
as pos itive pain s as n egat ive
Th e al gebrai c su m o f a se ri e s o f
pl e asu re s and pain s will b e obtain ed by adding th e pl easures
toget h e r and t h e pain s togethe r and then striki ng the bal ance
”1 6
by substracting the small e r a mount from the greate r
With th i s concept o f the cal cul abil ity o f pl easu re pain an d the
poss ib il ity o f a sum o f pl ea su re ; and with S en io r and B an fiel d s
”
L aw s o f Want s to account fo r t h e o rde r i n whi c h wants appear
th e sub j ective facto r i n th e p robl em o f val u e c oul d be m easu red
as exactly as th e obj ective facto r o f supply A l so util i ty exp ress
ing th e functional rel ation bet w e en the two facto rs coul d n ow b e
“
ex actly expre ssed
Ut il ity may be t reate d as a q u a n t i ty of two
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J e v on s l
“
J ev on s l
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c
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p
p
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23
32
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TO T AL U T I LI T Y AND T H E ECONO M I C J U DGM EN T
72
one dim ension cons i st i ng i n the quantity o f the com
modi ty an d anothe r i n th e inten sity o f the e ffe ct produ c e d upon
“ 7
con sume r
Total uti lity woul d thu s rep re sent all th e satis
faction coming f rom the consumption o f any s to ck o f go ods ; or
the s a t i s fact io n by mean s o f e conom ic goo ds o f any con sciou s scale
o f wants ; th e degree o f util ity th e sati s faction com ing f rom th e
c o nsumption o f any spe cific i nc rem ent o f a stock o f goods ; and
the gene ral l aw that th e degree o f utility varie s with th e quantity
o f commodity an d ultim ately de cr e ase s as that commodity
1 8
in c reas es
Th e degre e o f util ity o f th e l ast increm ent con
sumed o r th e next to be consumed i s the fina l or as it is u sually
t e rme d th e margi n al u ti l i ty an d m easu re s th e util ity o f th e
whol e ; i n oth e r wo rds it measu res valu e
A n d so by a curi ou s twi st th e n atu ral isti c p sychology o f util i
taria n ethi cs whi ch h ad steadily lost grou nd i n th e l ate r years o f
util itari an d evelopm ent became su ddenly rehab i l itated by J evons
a s the p sycholog i cal p remi se fo r th e new school o f e conomi cs
E conom ic th eo ry strongly utilitarian from the first formul ation
o f t he L abou r Theory o f Val ue had encountere d al l th e di fficulti es
o f t ryi ng to construe the phenom ena o f val ue i n obj ective mate
ri al i s t i c t e rms
When th e facts woul d no longe r j usti fy su ch par
tial t reatm ent an d w hen the recognition o f the i mportance o f
d emand and want as dete rm i ning factors culminated i n J evons
analysi s o f util ity h e construed the subj ective facto r not in i d eal
i s t i c but i n utilitarian t erms an d groun de d econom i c re asoning
frankly on the eth i cs o f natu ral ism I n J ohn Stu art M ill s works
we se e th e t rans ition in E ngl ish philosophi cal thought from utili
t ari an i s m to i deali sm
I n J evon s Th eory o f Politi cal E conomy
we find th e cons ciou s realis ation that th e fiel d o f economi cs is not
wholly cost labou r an d supply and that some expl anation mu s t
be given o f the varying human wants an d desi res B ut in demol
“
”
i s hi n g J ohn S tuart M ill s Pol itical E co n Omy an d dubbing h im
“
equ ally w rong h e aded wi t h Ricardo J evon s did not real i se th at
di mens i ons ,
,
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J e v on s l
J ev on s l
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c; p
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47
53
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T O T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECONO M I C J U DGM EN T
74
.
o f a non natural isti c i nte rp retation but i n cu rrent d iscus sion mu ch
o f th e a rgument f ollow s the t raditional reasoning an d rests on
“
”
“
su ch assumptions as a s um o f pl eas u re th e cal cul ab ility o f
pl e asu re p a i n and th e po stulate o f th e natu ral isti c p sychology
Th e L abou r Theo ry o f Val ue moreove r still pe rs ists i n th e s u r
plus Value Th eory of C apital o f th e M arxi an social i sts ; and th e
L abou r Theo ry o f Val u e wh ethe r i n its E ngl ish o r G erman form
rests avowe dly on a hedon i sti c inte rp retation o f hu man nature
and postulate s a util itari an en d o r total
-
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,
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I
.
The S u b j ecti v e
-
N at u r e
j
ob e c t i v e
f E c on omi c
o
S ci en ce
.
E conomic scien ce i s then seen to have a two fol d n ature I t
i s not a pu rely s ubj e ctive stu dy as are psychology and logi c i n
the sense o f havi ng fo r it s data only the natu re o f consciou sn e ss
an d fu n ct i on i n gs o f th e s el f N or i s it pu rely obj ective in deal
ing only with m atter o r p roperti es whi ch may b e m e asured I t
is a combination o f th e subj ect i v e a n d obj ective ; an d more than
th i s i n ec onom i c phenom ena the s ubj ective de si ring and wanting
human facto r i s always foun d to b e i n a certa i n rel ation to the
“
w orld o f fact or oute r natu re
G ood s whi ch m ight b e prov ed
to exi st fru it on anoth e r pl an et gold at th e h eart o f th e earth
have no econ omic val idity as they can n eve r come i n connection
with a d e s i ring s ubj e c t A goo d i s an eco nomic ph enom ena w h en
i t stands i n some definit e rel at i on to a hum an b eing A human
bei ng is economi c to th e extent and only to the extent to wh i ch
h e i s relate d to econom ic goods Th e rel at i on m o reove r is
functional not causal With out human de s i re go ods have no
e conomi c aspect and are e conomi c only to th e extent i n whi ch
they a re des i red H uman beings are econom ic agents t o the
extent to whi ch they depen d on good s n on e conomi c i n those
attr i butes i n wh i c h they are in dependent o f al l goods Th ere fore
“
“
M an i s a fu nction o f N atu re or N ature i s a fun ction o t man
are the symbol i c exp res sions fo r th i s e conom ic rel at ion o f func
t i on al depen denc e
I n v i ew o f th i s relation a word mu st b e sai d as to th e m et h od
o f economi c s wh i ch i s se en to b e far mo re compli cate d than i s
.
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T O T AL U T I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DG M EN T
75
us ually as sum ed i n economi c text books To th e extent t h at
economi c ph enomen a a re ob j ec ti ve and cap abl e o f b eing
abstracte d from th e subj e ctiv e facto r they are adapt e d to the
sam e met h odologi cal t reatm ent as th e data o f t h e n atural s ci e nce s
S uch e conom ic fact s as sou rce o f supply areas o f p ro du ction th e
fact s o f population an d nearly al l th e phenomen a coming u nde r
the catego ry o f E xchange m ay b e stu di ed indi rectly an d deduc
t i v el y m ay b e cla s s ifie d an d ar ranged and to a ce rtai n extent m ay
b e i sol ate d an d experim ented upon B ut m o st important o f all
they m ay b e counte d an d measu red an d so d ealt with m at hema
ti cal ly The almos t ove rwh elming amount o f m ate rial avai l abl e
to the economic s tudent fro m th e advan ce an d speci ali sation o f
i ndu st rial u ndertakings m ake appl i ed m at h ematical metho ds th e
only p ractical one s fo r d ealing with compl i cat ed industrial and
comme rci al conditions Th e stati sti cal m etho d a s b ran ch o f
appl i ed mat h em ati cs i s employe d u nive rs ally as th e only c onv en i
ent m et h od fo r d e ali ng w ith thi s cl as s o f fact s an d i s almo st
coi n cid ent in its fiel d w ith wh at w e ha ve de signate d as th e Ob j ec
tive F acto r B y th e us e o f di agram s statistics an d th e val uabl e
fo rm ulae wh i c h h ave b e en obtain e d by th e u s e o f th e Theory o f
Probabil ity th e appl i ed econom i st i s en abl e d to han dl e materi al
whi c h w
oul d be totally un avail abl e w e re he re stricted to m e t h od s
o f enum e ration an d d es c ription H e i s al so abl e to p re dict r esults
o f soci al i ndust rial an d comm e rcial combin ations and to cal eu
l at e w h at w il l b e t h e gen e ral tend en cy o f developm ent in give n
social industri al and comm e rci al cond ition s
T h e m et h ods o f appl ie d m ath em atic s may be u sed an d in de e d
mu st b e u s ed i n de al in g with th e O b j ective F acto r fo r accu mu
l ating data an d arra nging mate ri al T hi s O bj ective F acto r
“
G ood s or S upply whe n abst racte d from the subj ective ob j ec
tive eco nom i c rel ation when abstracted f rom th e pe rson want
ing t h e good s o r demanding the supply can only be regarded
as qu antity an d h en ce can only b e m easu red I t may be m easu re d
mathematically bu t i t m ay n ot b e val ued m ath emat i cally Thi s i s
an i mpo rtan t poin t to note i n vi e w o f th e great i nte rest nowadays
in t h e appl icati on o f th e m ath em ati cal me tho d to economi c ph e
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TO T AL UT I LI T Y
76
A N D TH E
ECO NO M I C J U DG M EN T
momena Valu e i s th e j u d gm ent o f better
.
o r wo rse not more
“
”
o r les s hence it exp res se s a rel ation o f qu al ity an d depends fo r
its s ol uti on not only o n the l aws o f goods whi ch may be expre s sed
math emati cally but also on th e psychologi cal na tur e o f w ants
whi ch be ing intensities and feel ings m ay b e i n dicated m athe
mat i c al l y but are not capabl e o f obj ective m e as u rement
Thi s l e ads u s to th e second m etho d in which mat h emati cs m ay
be u sed i n formulating econom i c data We may employ the nota
tion o f th e Theo ry o f F unctions t o exp re ss th e relations exi sting
betw een the S ubj ective and O bj ective F acto r Th is re l ation b eing
a functional on e may b e exp res se d i n the form M
F (n)
The
functional relation o f dem an d an d s upply o f monopoly forc e and
th e l evel o f price an d o f al l the compl i cated ph enomena o f E x
ch ange which deal w ith d eman d and not with me re supply m ay b e
exp res sed in the form o f a functional equ ation an d may b e sub
m i t t e d to var i ou s m ath emati cal ope rations inclu ded i n the T heory
o f F un ction s and the I n fin i t es i mal C alcul u s
Thi s method o f exp res sing econom i c rel ation was first u s e d by
“
A ugustus Cou rn ot in hi s M at h emati cal P rin cipl es o f th e Th eory
o f Wealth appearing i n F rance i n 1 83 0
Cou rn ot expre s se d the
rel ation b etwe en the S ubj ective F acto r o f deman d and the
O bj e ctive F acto r o f supply in the te rm s o f a functional equ ation
and by the method o f the D i ffe rential C alcul us develop ed fo rmulas
exp res sing price rel at i on s u nde r condition s o f fre e t rade parti al
monopoli es absolute monopoli e s an d the gen eral e ffect o f t axa
tion on monopol y p ri ce com petition p ri ce etc I n th e cou rs e
of hi s t reatis e he a nticipated th e ma rginal util ity theo ry o f valu e
i n exp re ssi ng th e val ue dete rmin ing fact o r i n hi s equations as th e
di ff erential co e fficient B ut hi s w ork h ad n o e ff e ct on contem
p orary economi c thought and the m arginal utility th eory was
develope d l ate r an d indepen dently by J evon s i n E ngland and
G oss en in G e rmany Cou rn ot s wo rk com es i n the gene ral devel
op men t o f the theo ry more as a co nfirmation than a t ransitiona l
step J evons and G ossen both u sed th e m e t hod o f the di fferenti al
calculu s to expre ss the fo rmation o f th e subj ective factor in
determin ing value A n d th e u se o f th e notation o f pu re mathe
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TO T AL U T I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DGM EN T
77
.
mati e s fo r exp res sing e conomi c rel ations finds its exponent t o d ay
i n th e works o f Wal ras P areto F e rrara E dgwo rth Wi c ks t ead
P ro fe sso r M ars h al l s u s e o f m ath ematics i s
an d many othe rs
mos t illuminating i n the m any example s whi ch i llust rat e hi s
“
E conomi c P rinc i ples
B ut t h e u se o f the notation o f pu re mathematics i n econom i c
d at a i s only val i d for concis enes s o f exp ression I t cannot a d d
P ro f e s sor M arshall s ays in th e i ntrodu ction to his
n ew facts
“
“
P ri ncipl e s
Th e chi e f u s e o f p u re math emat ics i n economi c
quest ions s eems to b e in helping a pe rson to w rit e d own quickly
sho rtly and exactly som e o f h is tho ughts fo r h i s own us e and to
make su re that h e has enough an d only enough p rem i s e s for
hi s concl us ions ( i e th at hi s equation s are n either mo re no r le s s
i n numbe rs than his unkn own s )
B ut wh en a great many symbol s
h ave to be u s ed they become ve ry l aborious to any o ne but the
w rite r h imsel f an d though Cou rn ot s gen ius m u st give a n ew
m ental activity to eve ry o n e who pa ss es through hi s h ands and
m at h em atici ans o f hi s c al ibre m ay us e thei r favo rite weapons to
cl ear a w ay fo r them selve s to the c ente r o f some o f thos e di ffic ult
probl em s o f e conomi c th eo ry o f wh ich only the oute r fringe h as
ye t be en tou ched yet i t s eem s doubt ful whethe r any on e sp ends
h i s time well redu c ing l engthy t ransl ation s o f econ omi c d octrine s
”
i nto m athem at ics that h ave not be en m ade by him s el f
The re a
son fo r thi s l ie s i n th e ve ry subj ective obj ective n atu re o f e c o
nomic ph enomen a wh ich we have d iscus se d above M an stands
i n a fun ctional r el ation to e conomic goods Th is rel ation may for
concis enes s be expre sse d a s a di ff erenti al equation ; varia tion in
dem and i s a ccompan ie d by variation i n supply change in qu an
t ity o r qu al ity o f val uable obj ects i s accompani ed by a ff ective
ch ange i n the bal an cing subj ect i n the e conomi c equation B ut
though the S ubj ective and O bj ective F acto r s may be expre s se d
in relation i t does not mean that th ey are comm en su rabl e te rm s
o r that th ey m ay be reduce d to any common denominato r The
obj e ctive wo rld o f thi ngs exi sts i n space an d t ime an d m ay b e
meas u re d Th e subj ective w o rl d o f w ant f eeling and w ill are
i ntensitie s Th ey m ay in dee d be arranged accordi ng to greate r
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78
T O T AL U T I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DGM EN T
.
o r l es s i nten sity as w e s h all s ee l ater but they can never be
me asu re d ; first becaus e th ey always appe ar succ ess ively in con
never s im ultaneou sly and there fore do n ot a dmit o f
s ci ou s n e s s
di re ct compari son : an d s econdly be c aus e a unit o f m e asure fo r a
p sychic activity i s lacking
The us e o f th e pu re mathematical method then i n exp res sing
“
econom ic relation s i s va l i d only for concis e e xpre ssion ; to help
a pers on write down qui ckly S ho rtly and exactly som e o f h is own
thoug h t s fo r hi s own u se
A s it u ses symbols to expres s rel a
ti on s exi sting betw ee n i ncommens urable facto rs i t is highly use
ful fo r testing logi cal hypothe ses and veri fy i ng logi cal conclu
s ions B ut it i s extremely doubt ful whether s uch a metho d can
eve r add new fact s conce rning econom ic relation s I t certainly
coul d we re b ot h s ides o f th e equation commen su rabl e coul d
human des i re b e m eas u re d by some u ni t analogou s t o units o f
phys ical me asu rement I t coul d develop a n ew notation o r sym
hol ism w ere both s i de s o f the economi c equation co rresp on dingly
“
”
good s an d the ph enomena o f oute r
i n c ommens u rab l e ; we re
natu re the exp res sion o f a wo rl d w i ll seeking sel f utteranc e as
human w ants are th e evidence o f th e hu man w ill striving for
real isation and complet ion Unles s we ar e prepared t o a scen d
to a very m isty metaphys i cal region and s eek a mathemati c al sym
bol ie which w i ll t ran s cend all subj ective obj ective di stin ct i ons we
mu st content ou rsel v es w ith the compl i c ated but intell igible d ivi
s ion s o f econom i c metho d whi c h the d ual nature o f th e phenomena
dem ands The O bj ective F acto r bei ng comm ens urabl e may be
deal t w ith math emati cally an d l ends it sel f a dm irably to stat i sti
cal treatment The relation betwe en the subj e ctive an d obj ect i ve
facto rs may b e i ndi cated by th e symbols o f th e C al culu s fo r p re
c i s i on
bu t th e facto rs being them sel ves incommensurabl e t e rms
no new knowle dge conce rning economi c rel ations may be obtain e d
by th i s proces s I t remains th en to note what m etho d must be
employe d i n dete rm ining the subj ective factor
I n view o f th e distinction made i n th e i ntroduction , the S ubj ee
tive F a c t o r i n the e conom i c p roc es s ( th e human being as th e
w anting or desi ring subj ect ) may be regard ed as the d ata for
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T O T AL U T I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DGM EN T
79
.
eithe r psychologi cal o r ethical investigation Regarding t h e emer
gence o f wants as a form o f a c tivity o f th e f unctioning s el f a
study o f th e n atu re o f w ant an d a formul ation o f th e l aws o f
want form a branch o f the s ci ence o f p s ychology an d thus con
for m to the methodology o f that science Th e princ ipa l method s
fo r deal ing wi th psychol ogi cal data have been s el f introsp ection
obse rvation o f p sychical m ani fe stations i n others and exp eri men
d in all i nvestiga
t at i on Th e firs t two m etho ds have been employ e
tion s as to the n atu re o f w ant an d t h e o rder o f emergence o f
wants wh i c h s inc e th e time o f J evons an d G oss en h ave pl ayed
su c h an impo rtant rOl e in e conom i c theo ry B an fiel d s L aw o f
the S ubo rdi nation o f Wants G os s en s L aws o f S en sib il ity and
the H edon i c M axima M enge r s B ed ii rfn i s s S cal a P an t al e on i s
L aw o f E l asti city an d th e Pos itive an d N egative E xpansion o f
W ants are al l th e results o f intro spection an d obse rvation I n
“
D r Cu b el s Theo ry o f Wants : a theo reti cal investigation in th e
bou n dary l and betwe e n E conomi cs an d Psychology to mention
on e o f th e l ate st additions to the study of th e s ubj e ctive factor
th e s am e metho ds ar e us e d and the in fe rences d rawn from th e
analysi s o f variou s concepts o f want are the res ults o f such pro
foun d in sight and logical ac umen th at hi s con cl u sion s m ay not b e
passe d ove r by any stu dent o f th e p sychological el em ent i n E co
nomi c data I t is ve ry doubt ful whether othe r methods w h i ch
have been fru it ful in th e fiel d O f psychology w oul d have any
val u e i f appl ie d to economi c phenom ena I solation o f economi c
ph enomena an d di rect exp erim entation i s practi cally impos sibl e
the o rgan i c conn ection o f the two factors i s the e ssential economic
relation C ertain e co nom i c rel ation s may be isolated o r rathe r
ab stracted fo r th e pu rpose o f an alysi ng thei r component parts
Th e C l as sical econom i sts fo r example ab s t racted th e produ ctive
proce ss from al l the i nfluen ce s o f monopol i es and fo rmulated
la ws o f production un der conditio n o f free compet i tion whi ch
they adm itt ed actually coul d not exi st The m etho d i s admi rabl e
fo r precision o f exposition but o f very qu e stionabl e sci entific
val ue A ga i n i sol ate d group s o f i ndivi dual s may ve ry p rofitably
be studied with th e vi ew o f d eterm ining th e l aw s o f inten sity an d
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TO T AL UT I LI T Y
80
ECO NO M I C J U DGM EN T
A N D TH E
.
em e rgence o f want s i n a restricted envi ronm ent This was von
“
Thii nen s m ethod i n D e r i s ol i rt e S t aat and h as b een us ed in
numerous mode rn sociological i nve stigat i ons as to the extent o f
wants sat i sfie d i n groups with varying i ncom es B ut i n su ch case s
it i s th e envi ronm ent wh ich i s l imi t ed not t h e w ant an d the
re sults o f s u ch ob se rvation is not to learn new fac ts as to the l aw s
o f wants but only the extent to whi ch want which i s a u nive rs al
phenomenon may real is e itsel f in the face o f obvious l imitat ion
B ut passi ng from the p s ycholog i cal na tur e o f want as an aspe ct
o f th e functionary sel f w an ts m ay b e stu di e d i n another relation ;
as evi dences o f th e nature o f th e E n d which i n th e cas e o f any
i ndivi du al o r group o f indivi dual s with a common o r s ocia l end
dete rmi nes the di rection o f thi s activity H uman wants then i n
vi ew o f thei r tel eological s ignificanc e as exp re ss ions o f the
p u rp os e and pl an o f l i fe a re ethical phenom ena and h en ce are
s ubj e ct to t he m etho dolog i cal treatment o f eth ics o r th e S cien ce
o f th e E n d Though ethi cs i s a subj ective obj e ctive st u dy to
the degre e that the real isati on o f the en d only comes i nt o con
s c i ou s n e s s through the cou rs e o f an obj ective activity wh ich we
“
”
call th e conduct o f l i fe
n eve rthel e ss it i s freed fr om the
obj e ctive wo rl d o f l imite d s upply wh ich determ i n es t h e subj ee
tive fa cto r i n e c onomi c rel at i on and gives it its e conomi c char
act e r Th e method o f eth ics there fo re i s the s el f d e al ing imme
S el f analysis
d i at el y with the s el f an d ob serv i ng othe r s elves
and obs ervation are th e only methods w e can u se t o pi ece toge th e r
“
thos e fragm entary an d disj oi nted facts whi ch app e ar as habitual
”
“
”
”
“
“
i mp l u s i v e acts
conduct
i nstinct
imitation
th e exp res
”
sion o f th e indivi du al C haracter in o rde r to for m som e i dea o f
the pl an wh i ch is being worke d out in each i ndi vidual l i fe o r the
typ e o f human p ersona l ity The postul ates as to the n atu r e o f
the ethi cal end an d th e crite rion o f action gain ed by sel f an alysis
and obs e rv at i on are subm i tte d to all the fo rms o f logi cal t es t o f
whi ch th e human mind i s capabl e
B ri efly to re capi tulate the s u bj ective obj ect i ve natu re o f e co
nomic sci ence lays itsel f open to variou s method s o f treatment
( 1 ) The obj ect i ve facto r o r th e ph en om ena o f supply m ay be
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82
TO T AL UT I LI T Y
A N D TH E
ECONO M I C J U DGM EN T
.
o f val uing pl easu rabl e and p ai n ful s ensation in the light o f such
a scal e w i th a view o f attain i ng the great est poss ibl e amount o f
pl easu rabl e exp erien ce i n a l i fe tim e I n the han ds o f the econ
om i s t s thi s concept fitted in w ith a growing recognition o f th e
S ubj ective F actor i n econom i c phenomena an d finds its economi c
concom i tant as the concept o f a subj e ctive scal e o f wants
I t was early obs e rve d tha t h uman wants i n th e proces s o f s ati s
faction fol low each oth e r i n certain o rders ; physi cal w ants appear
ing be fore i ntel lectual wants fo r exampl e w ants for th e n ec es
s iti es o f li fe mu st b e s uppl i ed to a ce r t ain degre e b e for e th e com
forts o r l uxu ri e s m ay be enj oyed S uch a concept o f o rder i n
“
appearan ce o f wants u nde rl ies S en io r s L aw o f Vari ety : That
th e n ecessities o f l i fe are so few and s o s impl e that a man is soon
s atisfied in regard to them an d then d esi res t o ex t en d hi s rang e of
B an fi e l d stat es th e concept much mo re preci sely
enj oymen t
1 9
when h e for mulated h is L aw o f the S cal e o f Wants
B oth
statements b ear th e utilitarian t rade m ark o f cal cul abil ity o f
pl easu re and th e determination o f the di rection o f de si re by th e
“
”
thing i n i tsel f o r m ate r i ali sm M an i n the one cas e extends
”
the range o f his enj oyments to obtain a he doni c m aximum I n
the othe r case th e sati s faction o f a want creat es a highe r desi re
the impl ication bei ng that th e s el f r em ain s pas s ive J evons
strike s a mu ch p ro foun der n ote wh en h e critici ses B an fi el d s
L aw o f the S ub ordi nation o f Want s and poi nts out that the
sati s factio n o f the lowe r want doe s not creat e the higher want
” 20
A nd
but me rely pe rmits th e high er o ne to m ani fest its el f
thi s concept o f a s cal e o f wants as fo rmul ate d by J evons u nder
l i e s not only his the ory o f th e subj e ctive el em ent in val uation
Th
e
appl
ication
o
f
the
F
inal
Util
i
ty
to
the
Total
but
i
s
the
)
(
ba s i c i dea o f the whol e G renz nutzen Theo ry o f th e A u stria n
S cho ol B ri efly stated th e con cept i s as follows : The wants
of an i ndividual are arrang e d i n a certa i n o rder whi c h w e may
te rm h i gher an d lower a ccordi ng to a c rit eri on t o b e determined
l ate r ; wants app earing in group s o f i n divi duals o f l ike statu s and
e nvi ronm ent s eem to appear al so i n ce rta i n s equence s ; the order
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1
°
J ev on s
l c p
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2o
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T h e or y
54
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of
P oliti cal Ec on omy
,
p
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40
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T O T AL U T I LI T Y
A N D TH E
ECO NO M I C J U DG M EN T
83
o f these s cal es o r s equ ences i s su ch th at the sa t i s faction o f every
l ower want p e rmits a highe r o ne to mani fe st its el f Us i ng t he
“
“
c on cepts mo re o r l ess i t en s e i n plac e o f h i ghe r an d l owe r
the s ati s faction o f a mo re intens e want pe rm it s a les s inten s e
want to mani fe st itsel f
I n vi ew o f thi s concept o f a subj ective S cal e many i ntere sti ng
investigations have b een m ad e both analyti cal and s tatisti cal as
to the arrangement an d constitut i o n o f s uch s c al es o f wants
i n dividual and s ocial an d with co rre spon ding l i sts o f com
21
modi t i es
J enni ngs clas sifie d all commoditi es as primary and
s econ dary as they co rrespon d to p ri mary an d s econ dary s ensa
22
tion s S enio r
divides good s into ne cess iti e s com fo rts and
23
luxu ri es Pantaleoni has follow e d J enn i ngs di stinct i on between
p rimary and s econdary wants an d all i e d it to G os s e n s l aw s o f
”
Repeate d an d P rot racted E nj oyment an d the law s o f th e H e
doni c M axim a
H i s tentative fo rmulation o f th e law o f the
el asti city o f wants i s as follows : G iven an open m arket and su c h
econom i c condition s as to r en de r poss ible an I ncrease i n the
d eman d fo r commo dities we shall h ave an exp ansion o f want s
”
accordi ng to a dete rmin ate o rde r
S uppo si ng how eve r a di mi n u
“
tion o f th e m ean s o f payment the r e w ill b e a compre ssion o f
wants o r a cu rta i lment o f thei r sati s faction acco rding to a deter
”
m inat e o rde r di ff e ring f rom th e p reviou s one
Thi s positive and
n egative expans io n h e calls th e E mpi ri c S cal e of Po sit i ve an d
N egative E lasti city o f wants an d he give s inte re sting exampl es
taken f rom worki ng me n s bu dgets o f th e o rde r i n whi ch demand
fo r commodit ies expan d s
B ut fo r ou r pu rpos e it i s i rrel evant to not e th e m any appl i c a
tion s wh ich have been m ad e o f th i s con cept o f an em piri c s ub
j e ct i v e scal e o r to c ritic is e the many fore ign el ements which have
o ften ent e re d i n th e description s o f these s cale s B eing a transi
t i on al step f rom a n atu rali stic to an ideal isti c hypothe s i s th e
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P u b : L on g man B ro w n
N at u r al E l emen ts of P oliti cal E con omy
G r e en L on d on 1 85 5 Ri ch ar d J e n n i n gs ( N ot e p ag e r e f e r e nc e )
S en i or P oliti cal E con omy
C h ar l e s G r iffi n 81 Co L on d on 1 87
Fol p 2 8
P an t al eon i P u r e E con om cs p 5 8
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T O T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DGM EN T
84
.
t reatme nt o f thi s conc ept has o ften s u ff ered from th e con fuse d
te rminology and hazy definition o f su ch m ixed con cepts B ut it
i s impo rtant i n light o f th e developm ent to w ard an i de al isti c
concept i on wh ich w e have b een tracing to point out two char
.
,
,
ac t eri s t i cs
,
.
Th e subj ective sc al e i s regarde d a s empiri c I t i s a giv e n
o rder i n the appearance o f w ants which in th e cou rs e o f exp eri
en ce b ecomes e vi d ent I t cannot be cal culate d an d arrang ed but
i s the groun d fo r the cal culat i o n and ar rangem ent o f di sponibl e
“
goods an d powe rs O n e cannot s ay I arrang e my desi re s and
wants so th at a fter the s ati s faction o f my physi cal d em an ds fo r
fo od w armth and sl e ep I am in a con dition to s atis fy my intel
”
l ectual wants fo r books
I t i s s imply a matter o f fact as much
as the s equen ce o f th e sea sons that th e s ati sfaction o f physi cal
wants i n a certa i n orde r an d to a ce rtain degre e are th e nece ss ary
c on dition o f th e appearan ce i n consciousn ess o f the i ntell ectual
and spi ritua l w ant s O nly when the physical o r b ette r vi tal
wants are i n a m easu re satisfi e d can the i ntellectual an d spi ritu al
wants b ecom e imperat i ve
When P antal eoni sp eaks o f th e
empiri c s cal e o f w ants o f the positive and n egative elasticity o f
wants h e mean s wants i n this aspect as fixe d i n th e indivi d u al
scale i n a ch aracteristic s equence
Thi s l ead s u s di rectly to note the s econd point The ar
rangement o f wants i n a scal e i s indivi du al We may i n dee d
examin e n umbe rs o f worki n gmen s bu dgets arrange th e results
statistically an d calcul ate th e s equ ence in th e appea ran ce o f wants
“
”
i n th e average man
We m ay find as Pant al eon i d id that
wants fo r food expand th rough th e various in come cl asses as fol
“
low s : S alt grai n vegetabl es fruit fin e vegetabl es m eat dai ry
”
p roducts eggs sal t me at fi s h l iquo r groceri es and tobacc o
a n d that i n re ducing i ncome s commod itie s a re e conomi s ed i n the
following o rde r : meat vegetabl es groc eries sugar co ffee l iquor
tobacco and sal t B ut although unde r ce rtain w ide l imitation s the
o rde r o f wants m ay n ot vary for m as ses o f m en consi de ri ng the
actu al arrangement o f th e empi ri c scal es they do vary with every
i ndiv i dual i n th e world Th e i r ch aracteri stic a rrangement is
”
“
“
wh at we call pe rsonal ity
F o r ou r th eory the average man
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TO T AL U T I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DG M EN T
85
.
doe s not exi st as th e economi c man doe s not exi st T h e s cale
o f wants i n eve ry cas e i s the inde x to the individu al char
acte r
I n cas e o f absolut e lim itation o f supply most peopl e
may fe el want s fo r the p r ese rvation o f l i fe more u rgently th an
fo r the com fo rts o r l uxu rie s ; and o rgani c an d physi cal d esi re s
m ay app e a r i n tim e be fo re soci al int ell e ctual and ae s theti c ones
B ut s uch categori e s are t end enci e s rathe r than l aws ; th e con
“
neces sary postul ate
Th e person
v e n i en t clas s ification not the
al i t i e s that w e call great i n gene ral
h ave i ntell ectu al social an d
spi ritual wants highe r in th e scal e than th e des i re s fo r the com
”
forts and l uxu ries o f l i fe The h e ro and th e m artyr o f J ohn
Stuart M ill att ribut e a much highe r val u e to an ideal than to th e
prese rvation o f l i fe I t i s not even consi dered a he roi c char
the want fo r books
act e ri s t i c to fin d in m any i ndividu al s cal es
o r mu si c o r art com in g b e fo re m ost physical sati s factions N o
on e can r ead Knut H am s en s terribl e analys es o f th e experienc e o f
”
“
H unger without real i si ng th at i n th e really cre at ive and arti stic
t empe rament pencil and p ape r and not b read an d butte r m ay be
the s i n e q u a n on o f existen ce The o rd e r and arrangement o f
th e wants i n the s ubj ective em pi ri c scal e i ndi cates th e natu re o f
“
“
”
”
th e m an Th ey m ake fo r pe rson al ity an d indivi du al ity as
oppo s ed to th e m echani cal coll ection o f attribute s whi ch h as so
”
“
long been tickete d as the econom i c m an
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(2 )
The C on cep t
f Tot al
o
U t i li ty
.
I n t h e fo regoing paragraph we have mad e u se o f the ph ra se s
”
app ear first in time and high e r in the s cal e to indi cate the
place o f a want i n a d ete rmi ne d o rd e r The d istin ct io n i n thought
between thes e exp ressions gi ve s u s a clu e to the di stin ction
betwe en the conc ep t o f an empi ric s c al e o f want s an d th e
fun damental concept o f m od e rn economi c theo ry that o f Total
Utility L ooking at th e scal e em pi ri c ally wants a r e s een t o
eme rge du ring th e cou r s e o f hum an l i f e from the clo udy sub
“
consciou s th re shol d i nto the cl ea r l ight o f con sciou s desi re
F rom an i n fant s i n stin ctive desi r e fo r food to a man s i nd ivi dual
pre f e ren ce fo r a bee f steak rathe r than a lamb chop l ie s a long
conti nuou s development f rom i n stinctive s eeking to consciou s
”
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TO T AL UT I LI T Y
86
ECO NO M I C J U DGM EN T
A N D TH E
.
any given tim e i n the developi ng ind ivi dual w ants
fo r obj ect s emerge i n con sciou snes s an d may be ran ged accord
ing to thei r i ntensi ty ; that i s may be put b e fo r e o r after on e
anothe r acco rding as they are mo re o r l ess i ntensely desire d ; or
in the cas e o f cu rtailm ent o f sati s fact i on i n th e o rder i n which
they woul d b e foregone This i s a gai n th e point o f vi ew un der
lying P an t al eon i s E mpi ri c Po sitive and N egative S cal es and
may b e c all ed i n gen eral the concept o f th e E mpi ri c S cal e o f
Want
B ut t h e con cept o f Total Utility though it in cl udes th e con
tents of the E mpi ri c S cal e i s not limite d to that concept O ur
c o ncept o f ou r total util ity not only inclu des the i dea o f th e
s atis f action o f ou r p res ently felt wants but go es b eyond ou r p r e s
ently fel t w ants to i ncl ud e wants which at pre sent may be
subm erge d o r in abeyan ce an d looks fo rw ard to wants whi ch
are at pre sent but d imly felt an d even to conj e ctu ral wants wh i ch
w e h ave never p e rsonally fel t as u rgent but wh ich we know w e
shoul d feel we re o u r economi c positio n mo re favo rabl e I t
takes i nto account the exerci se o f facultie s but parti ally devel
Op ed an d th e expans ion o f capacities wh i ch a s yet m ay b e only
potenti al Total Util i ty is ou r i dea o f well bei ng not as s tati c
persons bou nded by an empi ri c scal e bu t as developabl e p erson
al i t i e s wit h con stantly n ew wants pushi ng th e known diameter
o f exp erience fart h e r i nto th e as yet unknown world Of poss ibl e
economi c ph en omen a
Total Utility i n other wo rds i s an i deal o f sel f as a devel
Oped an d compl eted person I t exi sts in th e will and determines
t h e dire ction o f insti nctive an d s em i in stinctive desi re be fore it
becomes expl i cit in c onsciousn ess H ow eve r h azy an d neb ulou s
it i s i n the b eginnin g o f con sciou s li fe i t b ecomes conc rete in
t hat partial sat i s faction o f wants and end l ess striving a ft e r th e
”
n ext thing
wh ich w e call l iving I t i s made known t o us
mo reover by ou r obs e rvation o f ou r ow n acts o f choi ce and
d ec i s i on L i ke t h e et h i cal i deal o f virtue and the aestheti c i dea
o f beauty i t i s al ways a step ahead o f ou r actua l accompli shment
( in thi s cas e o ur eco nomi c s tatu s ) for it i s always the actual
accompl ishment whi ch elevates us to se e th e n ext tu rning ; t h e
wa nt
D u ring
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T O T AL UT I LI T Y
ECO NO M I C J U DGM EN T
A N D TH E
87
.
foot h ill which b rings to vi e w th e n eare r range The E mp i ri c
S cal e o f w ants eithe r o f an i n di vi du al o r o f a soci ety measures
th e actual d eman d upon th e wo rl d a t any g i ven t i m e Th e i deal
o f Total Util ity o f an in divi d u al o r th e i deal o f Total So ci al
Util ity o f a commun ity indicates th e di rection i n whi ch individu al
an d social e conom i c l i fe will p roceed I t i s the revers e si de o f
“
”
the bibli cal m axim Wh e re t h e heart i s the r e is th e tr easu re al so
The concept o f Total Utility a s the i d eal o f human well b eing
i s th e b as is o f al l pu rpos ive e conomi c action as the e thi cal i deal
o f vi rtu e is o f all p u rpos ive p e rson al con du ct I f th e economi c
”
m an h ad bee n moved to attain hi s gre atest pl eas ure th rough th e
sati s faction o f h i s known wants with th e l ea s t exertion ; i f h e
had b een d et e rmi ne d to a ction th rough th e mo re o r l ess inten se
wants i n h i s empi ric scal e i n th e case o f bei ng u n favo rably pl ace d
“
”
i n the st ruggl e fo r exi sten ce i t woul d h ave b een economi c
”
“
fo r him to h ave s ecu re d hi s greate st pl easu re th rough the
dream s o f an Opium pipe thu s maxim i si ng ple asu rabl e s ensation
”
“
B ut th e r eally e conom i c man
and minimis ing pain ful exe rtion
move s to accompl i sh so mething b eyon d the range o f his p re sent
deman ds upon l i fe ; h e s truggl es to put himsel f i n a n e conomic
position wh e r e faculti es which h e fe el s wi thi n hi msel f but h ardly
d efines m ay have fulle r pl ay H e seeks to rearrange external
goo ds so that th ey m ay b e mo re advantageous to h is growing
de man ds H e harn es s es n atu re that i t m ay do fo r h im what h e
on c e had to d o fo r him sel f by phys i cal l abou r and thus gi ve s
h i s high e r fac ulties fre e r scop e H e go es th rough long tediou s
l abo riou s pro ce ss es th at i n th e end h i s rel ation to th e wo rl d o f
limite d supply m ay b e m o re advantageou s an d a ffo rd th e play o f
mo re faculti es
M o reove r h e educate s hi s ch i l d ren that they
m ay b e as w ell equ ipped as pos sible in th e st ruggl e fo r exi stenc e
whi ch m ean s i n the high est sen se th e struggl e for compl ete pe r
I t i s th e desi re fo r the fulle s t sel f expres sion not th e
s on al i t y
desi re fo r pl easu rabl e sen sation which has bu ilt up indu stri al
system s and subdu ed th e physical worl d
I t is i n th e l i gh t o f such an i deal o f a completely d evel oped
huma n pe rsonal ity th at we m ay apply the te rms high er and
lowe r to hum an want s
I n th e empi ric scal e they eme rge
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TO T AL UT I LI T Y
88
ECO NO M I C J U DGM EN T
A N D TH E
.
b e fo re a n d afte r as more o r l es s i ntense
I t i s only i n
vi ew o f an i deal which give s us a stan dard of j u dgm ent that we
”
“
may attach to them val ue ; an d s et th em i n o rde r as higher and
l owe r
mo re o r l e s s de si rabl e I t i s no longer an empiri c
arrangem ent appearing as the C haracte ristic o f ou r human natu re
but as the no rmati ve sel f i n the character o f a fun ctioning agent
which j u dges o rde rs an d ar range s a s i t appl i es a standa rd gi v en
imme diately to th e presente d facts o f supply
I t i s the p art o f a fre e agent there fo re not o f a n atu ral istic
c reatu re det ermine d i n h i s act i on by an expect e d su rplu s o f
pl eas u re and pai n which economi se s l imited supply to cove r the
greatest qu antum o f deman d which induc e s ab sti ne nc e from
p res ent consumption that a m or e a dvantageou s futu re condition
m ay affo rd s cop e o f action t o more powe rs and faculti es ; a n d
whi ch plan s the whol e economi c conquest over natu re so that the
man no longer terro r i s ed by natural pow e rs m ay maste r th em
an d thus real i s e hims el f mo re complet ely Th e appl ication of
th e I deal o f Total Ut ility to th e pres ented e conom ic ph enomena
b ri ngs u s to consider th e n ext important concept found i n an al ys
ing the s ubj ective fa c to r ; th e con cept o f M a rginal Utility and its
rel ation to th e econom i c j udgm ent
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M argi n al U ti l i ty
(3)
Ju dgmen t
t h e E c on omi c
an d
.
The con cept o f Total Uti l ity as an i deal o f w ell being p re sent
i n consciousnes s gives us a stan dard o f v al u e
I n o rde r t o
apply the stand ard o f v alu e t o th e worl d o f m easu rable supply
to determin e its economi c s ignificance fo r u s i n practi c al l i fe we
m u st have som e M eas ur e of Val u e ; som e u nit wh i ch wil l rat e
th e rel ative wo rth o f an in c rement to a stoc k o f goods ; and place
the in crement or stock rel at i ve to ou r Total Ut i lity Thi s m easu re
o f valu e J evons demonstrated t o be th e F inal o r MargI n al
Utility I t i s not the compl ete s ati s faction o f th e more u rgent
w ant in th e E mpi ri c S cal e whi ch dete rmines the extent o f the
scal e S uch an act would be i n it s way absolute woul d have no
re fe ren c e to th e s at i s faction o f othe r w ant s hence coul d but
dete rmi ne the i r rel ative val u e i n th e t otal I t i s th e l east urgent
want satisfied th e l ast in a se ri e s o f wants to receive con si de ra
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TO T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECONO M I C J U DG M EN T
90
.
j ect i v e w ants s u ch that the int en s ity o f the satis faction o f e ach
want decreas e s wi t h th e cons umption o f each incremen t o f com
I f want
modi ty whi ch in th i s case i s c ons id ered as unlimited
A i s completely s at i s fied w i th ten i n crem ents o f commodity and
want B w i th nine want C with eight etc cl early th ere is a
given point i n the sati s fa ction o f each w ant when it w ill yi el d a
high er degre e of satis facti on to c ease consumption along th e line
( A ) yi el ding an increas i ngly lowe r retu rn i n s atis faction an d to
tu rn to th e s ati s facti on o f a want ( B ) yi elding a r elatively high er
rate o f sati s fact i on That i s i n the sa ti s f action o f e ach on e in th e
scal e the re i s a point short o f sati ation beyon d whi ch it i s
unecon om i c to proceed as i n crea s e d cons umptio n b rings an
i ncreasingly small retu rn relative to th e Total Utility Th e w ant
which marks the boundary betwee n the greatest a va i l abl e retu rn
in s ati s faction a n d th e n ext greatest i s th e marginal want Thu s
abst ract ed fro ml imited S upply th e valu e determining factor l i es
i n the natu re o f hum an wants wh i ch a re qu antitati vely sati able
an d may i n each s eparate cas e b e tu rne d from des i re to loathi ng
by continu ing to con sum e su c c es sive i n c rements o f the sam e goo d
to the point o f s at i ati on an d beyond ; but which are qualitatively
i nsati abl e the re bei ng n o l imit thi s si d e o f death to th e capacity
for variety in e conomi c exp eri ence Th e margi nal po int in the
satis faction o f any i ndivi dual want o r th e marginal w ant i n ou r
in divi dual s cal es m ark th e points wh ere economi c o r u neconom i c
con du ct is registe red I t fixes the valu e o f each want i n ou r
scale an d me as u re s fo r u s ou r Total Util ity
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Th e Con cep t
(ii )
t he
M argi n al Good
f
Using th e s am e C oncept o f a s cale o f wants but suppos ing
a limite d supply o f goods the l ast in crem ent o f goods consumed
o r th e l east u s e t o whi ch an i ncrem ent o f goods may p rofit ably
be tu rned m easu res the valu e o f the t otal availabl e stock o f su ch
goods I t i s th e margi nal goo d and may be use d as the obj ective
measu re o f valu e for th e sto ck The cl ass i c examples o f th e
5
M argin al G o od may b e m ultipl i ed without numb er
C ru so e i n
o
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2
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T h e s e are e x ampl e s u s e d by B oh m B aw e rk i n hi s e xp ositi on
T h eory of M ar gi n al U tility an d by S m ar t i n his I n t r o d u c ti on
T h eor y of Margi nal U tility
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of t h e
t o t he
TO T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DGM E N T
91
.
h i s i slan d with co rn fo r food fodde r an d s eed for f e edi ng hi s
pet an imal s ; t h e s hipw re cke d sai lo r with b re ad an d wate r to b e
divi d e d betwe en hims el f hi s comrade and hi s dog I n thes e
case s th e portion o f co rn wh ich i n case o f stres s C rusoe w ith h ol ds
from th e pet anim als o r the b read whi ch wh en res cu e i s de fe rred
the sailo r re fu ses to share with hi s dog ; i n oth er wo rd s the l east
u rgent u s e to which an in crem ent o f a l im it e d stock o f comm odity
may be put m e asu re s th e val u e o f the whol e I t i s the m argin al
goo d
I t i s to b e note d that t h ese two el ements i n th e concept o f
m arginal u t i l i t y z t h e m arginal want and th e m argin al good are
al wa ys p e rce ive d togeth e r but thei r rel ation i s fun ctional not
causal Th e m arginal want do e s not cau s e th e m argin al good
o r vi c e ve rsa Th e m argi nal l in e i s d raw n whe re thes e two
coin ci d e I t i s almost tautol ogi cal to asse rt that the l east valu
abl e in creme nt i n th e supply o f good s suppli e s th e l east u rgent
d eman d in a s cal e o f wants I t i s b ut anothe r expres sion o f the
subj ecti ve obj ective n atu r e o f econom i c co ncepts
I n th e b ri e f su rvey o f t h e marginal con cept w e h ave m ade no
attempt to a nalys e it or i n dicate i ts m ani fol d appli cation to all
b ran che s o f e conom i c thi nki ng T he margin al an d i ts suppl e
mentary con cept th e di ffe renti al are th e tool s wh ic h mode rn
e conomi sts u s e i n deal ing wit h al l p robl ems i n conn ection with
inte re s t rent wages an d i n de ed with al l b ran ch e s o f economi c
ph enom en a T h e enumeration o f th e u ses to whi ch thes e con
c ep t s h ave been put s i nce th e days o f Ri cardo woul d fill volume s
B ut o u r ch i e f i nterest l ies i n noting th e ideal natu re o f the
marginal concept an d i ts rel ation to th e Total Util i ty concept o r
standard o f val u e
To estimate cl e arly the rel ation between
the two w e mu st exami ne the n atu re o f the valu ing faculty ; the
faculty that appl ie s th e stan dard to th e con crete good that dete r
mi n e s t he rel ative weight o f th e want i n the S cal e i n othe r wo rds
e co nomi c j udgm ent
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( i ii )
The E c on omi c Ju dgmen t
.
I n ou r account o f the con cept o f Total and M argi nal Utility
w e have as s embl ed the facto rs pre sent in eve ry act o f val uation
,
.
T O T AL U T I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DGM EN T
92
.
We have imme di ately given in consciou sn es s an ideal o f ou rsel f
as satisfie d o r compl ete d ; f rom th e ci rcu ms tance o f l imited sup
ply w e have th e pre sen ce o f the marginal good in function al
relation with th e m arginal want I t now remai ns to i nvestigate
the n atu re o f the act o f val uation itsel f I t i s obviously not a
simpl e act i n view o f th e numb e r o f factors which mu st be taken
into a c count ; and there fo re l ends itsel f t o no simpl e exp res sion
I f the act o f val uation we re accompani ed by a ru nning comment
from th e i ntrospe cti ng s e l f i t woul d amount to som eth ing l ike
“
thi s
With regard to my conc ept o f total w el l b eing and in
the face o f limite d supply I valu e A h ighe r than B as maki ng
fo r a mo re compl et e reali sation o f mysel f as sat i sfied ; tha t is
”
I choos e A rathe r than B
The s o call ed e conomi c j udgm ent o f
val u e i s not a j u dgment in the intellectu al s ens e it i s an ac t of
26
I t can only exi st wh e reve r ther e is a subj ective s cal e o f
wi ll
h uman wants an d su cc essive degrees i n th e i nten sity o f desi re
o f each w ant I t can again only exis t where the re i s a stock
o f goods with s eparabl e i n crem ents A de si re howeve r intens e
existing alone ( i f s u ch can b e im agined ) an d th e p re senc e o f one
goo d capabl e o f compl etely satis fying t h at des i re woul d give
ri se to the phenom ena o f deman d and supply con sumption sati s
faction but n eve r t o val u e The c i rcumstances o f val ue mu s t
b e the p res enc e o f variou s increments o f supply relative to vari
o u s hum an wants I m ust choose A o r B relative to my desi re
A or B
The econom i c j udgm ent th ere fo re i s a vol itional
j udgm ent I t i s a choi c e between th e m argin al utility and the
utility regarded as n ext i n importance
Th e dial ectic o f the
economi c j udgm ent must the re fo r e b e a di ale cti c o f Choi ce
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n t has b e en t ak e n i n this p ap e r of t h e r ece n t l ogi cal an d
psy ch ol ogi cal st u die s i n t h e th eor y of v al u e by c er t ai n A u st r i an an d
G e r man s ch ol ar s on e of t he most i mp ort an t ph as e s of wh os e w ork has
b e en an en q u i r y i n t o t h e n at u r e of t he e con omi c j u dg me n t Th e re as on
for this omissi on i s t h e f ac t th at t h e d ev e l op men t i n e thi cal an d econ omi c
th e ory t r ace d i n this e ss ay has b ee n r e st r i c t e d t o t h e En glish s ch ool s
I am i n d e bt e d for this e xp re ssi on t o a s u gg e sti on of M r B e r n ar d
”
B os an q u e t i n an ar ti c l e i n M i n d n e w s er i e s V ol X I I on H ed on is m
”
amon g I d e alists
I n dis cu ssi n g t h e p ossibility of a h e d on i c comp u t ati on
No
acc ou
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T O T AL U T I LI T Y
A N D TH E
ECO NO M I C J U DGM EN T
93
.
L ooking at othe r fo rm s o f j u dgm ent for a moment to b ring
out m o re cl early th e dist i ngui shing characte ri sti cs o f th e eco
nomi c j u dgment w e fin d that though th e gen eral typ e i s s imilar
i c th e appl ication o f a standard o r crite rion to a given ph e
n omen a by m e ans o f a uni fying act o f will
th e c i rcum stan c es
are charact eri sti cally di ff e rent I n th e intell ectu al j u dgment o r
j u dgm ent o f truth as fo r i nstan ce w hen I j udge Thi s i s a
”
book I j u dge th e obj ect pre sente d in exp eri en c e to correspon d
to my ide a o f it The s el f i s a ctive i n that i t un ifies i n a single
act th e obj ect an d th e i dea T h e st andard o f truth con si stency
“
o r cohere ncy exi st s i n con sciousn ess an d wh en I j udge some
”
thing i s I am as a functioni ng sel f uni fying appearanc e with
reality
This i ntellectual standard o f t ruth as con sistency w e mu st
postul at e to be th e i ntell ectual standard o f all ratio nal b eings
We re it otherwi s e the re wo ul d b e no possibili ty o f commu n i ca
“
”
tion O ne man s fish m i ght not only b e anoth er man s
”
“
“
”
”
“
poi s on but h i s yes might b e anoth er s no
p erh ap s o r
tomo rrow
Th e ethi cal j u dgm ent o f right i s not only le ss
unive rsal an d mo re in divi dual than th e i ntell ectual j udgment o f
t rut h b ut i t i s m o re con c rete and full o f co nte nt
I n th e l ight
o f my i deal o f mysel f as i nfinitely p e rfect ab l e o r real i sabl e I
”
j u dg e t h i s a cti on to b e right o r w rong
T his i s an ethical
j u dgment o f wo rth i n whi ch th e i deal o f th e s el f as real i s ed o r
vi rtu e i s appl i ed to a conc rete p e rsonal action to determin e its
eth ical val ue Th e c rite rion i n thi s cas e i s ha rmony with the
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i d eaL
T hus th e ethi cal j u dgment deals di re ctly w ith concrete pe rsonal
act i vi ty
b rought into relation wi th an i deal o f con du ct wh i c h
to th e d eg ree i n w h ich i t i s u n reali se d i n characte r i s s u p e rp e r
,
,
,
pl e as u r e p ai n h e s ays : The l aw s of t h e combi n ati on t h ou gh c e r t ai n ly
T h e y are t h e l aws of t h e l og i c of
n ot i rr ati on al are n ot y et ar ith me ti cal
d es i re by whi c h its ob j ec ts i n c l u d e modi fy an d r e i n f or c e or s u ppl an t
eac h oth er an d th e y d eal i n e v e r y cas e with t h e g r o wth o f an i n divid u al
O u r d e si r e s h av e
p erp e t u ally modi fyi n g its e l f
c on cr e t e wh ol e
P 218
a di al ec ti c of th e i r own
oi
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TO T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DG M EN T
94
.
son al o r spi ritual The economi c j udgm
ent t akes th e n e xt step
in concreten es s an d b rings th e human p ers onal ity i n relation to
“
th e obj ecti v e w o rld o f l imite d s upply
I n th e l ight o f myse l f
as sat i sfie d ( my Total Utility ) I j udge t hat A m akes more
“
e ffectively fo r my well being than B
M o re conci sely put I
choos e A fo r mys el f rathe r than B
B ut f rom th e o rganis at ion o f so ci ety an d t h e compl i cation s of
economic l i fe w e make m any s o call ed economi c j udgm ents w h ich
neve r direc t ly a ffect ou r one subj ect scal es o f wants ; t hough we
make s u ch j ud gm ents with regard to ou r s ubj ective s cal es Th at
i s ; i n maki ng our wo rl d compreh ens ibl e and i n o rdering the
economi c chao s about us w e are obli ge d to fit many obj ects into
a s cale o f commoditie s whi ch w e are n eve r abl e to comm an d fo r
ou r own cons umption Th e m an with a salary o f a thous and a
year i s n e v e r calle d u pon actu ally to choose b etween a steam
yacht and a fou r i n han d co ach N eve rthel es s th e steam yacht
and th e four i n han d coach have thei r pl aces i n a scal e o f com
mod i t i es wh ich he arrange s to fit th e demands o f hi s nature ;
though they may n ever approach th e margi nal poi nt o f disponibl e
goods an d so n eve r be come obj ects o f choi ce The j u dging
proces s is th e same wh ethe r we m ake a real o r hypoth eti cal
choi ce I t i s only a qu est ion o f extent o f control ove r goo ds
wh eth er I say I choose the n ew book rather than th e th eatre
t i cket wh i ch m eans I pl ace th e book h ighe r in the scal e o f
di sponibl e goods as m ini s tering imm edi ately to a high er o r mo re
“
u rgent w ant o r I choose the steam yacht rathe r than th e fou r i n
”
han d coach
I n eve ry s el f consc ious pe rson the range o f
tabulated desire extends far b eyond th e range o f di sponibl e go ods
E ven with those pe rs ons who se actual in com es more th an cover
thei r personal outl ay the m i llionai res an d th e pl uto crat the eco
nomi c natu re o f thei r j u dgments o f worth do es not Change The
“
”
catego ry o f disponibl e goods in su ch case s in crease s w ith the
free development o f variety in wants to in cl ude h eighten e d p er
sonal powe r artisti c o r creative o r organi sing abil ity infl uence
p re stige pol iti cal po we r control ove r m en di s inte rested b en evo
l en ce etc
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T O T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DGM EN T
95
.
T h en agai n w e m ake m any e conom i c j u dgm ent s not di rec t ly
with respe ct to ou r own T otal Util ity bu t w ith regard to soc i ety
as a whol e Th e p roce s s i s agai n the same only the i deal o f
well b eing whi ch w e apply as a crit eri on o f e conom i c val ue i s
the well being of society as a whol e o r To tal S ocial Util i ty
I n th e light o f s uch an i de al w e shoul d choo se A rathe r than B
o r pl ace A highe r th an B in a scal e o f So ci al Utilitie s
B ri efly to re capi t ul at e th e po i nts thu s indi cate d : I n th e com
pli cat ed op eration mak ing up th e s o call e d e conom i c j u dgment o f
val ue th ere i s pre s ent i n o u r consciou sn es s ( a ) ou r ideal o f
Total E conom i c Util ity o r ou r con cept o f ou rselves as sati sfie d
an d compl ete d wh i ch concept is analyti cally resol vabl e i nto a
subj e ctive scal e o f w ants i n o rder o f u rgen cy o r th e E mpi ri c
S cal e an d as an o rde re d s cal e as cen ding to better and wo rse
whi ch w e may call an I de al S cal e Th e re i s given in exper i ence
c h aff ect ou r
the
p
res
en
e
o
f
altern
ate
goods
only
thos
e
w
hi
c
b
( )
choi ce howeve r are the goo ds about th e margin : th at is th e goods
coming w ith i n th e range o f ou r pos sibl e di sposition The sub
j ect i v e an d obj ective el ements ar e united ( c ) by th e acti ve func
t i on i n g o f the w ill i n an act o f choi ce
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Vari an ts i n t h e E con omi c Ju dgme n t
.
Th e imm e di at e n atu re o f th e ethi cal j u dgmen t carries wi th i t
a certai n el em ent o f apo di cti c certainty The i deal o f vi rtu e
p res ent i n ou r con sciou sn es s i s imm edi ately appl ie d i n j udgments
o f con du ct a n d w e feel h armony an d di s co rd th e mo re acutely
“
as ou r i de al i s reveal e d to u s ; i n com mo n parl ance as ou r c on
s cience i s s ensiti v e
Th e very n atu re of th e e conom i c j udg
m ent gives mo re s cop e for variation O f th e t w o f ol d n atu re o f
econ omi c phenomenon on e elem ent is h arnesse d to the worl d
o f fa c t from th e ci rcumstan ce o f l i mited supply the othe r i s o f t en
at th e m e rcy o f th e vagar i es o f hu man pas s i on and caprice
O n e impo rtant vari abl e i n th e fact o rs d ete rm i ni ng t h e e co
nom i c j u dgm ent i s the varying st rength o f human desi re A
su dden strength o f desi re m ay move t he w i ll t o m ake a choi c e
not fo r th e total w ell b ei ng E conomi c j udgments may be made
.
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T O T AL UT I LI T Y
96
ECO NO M I C J U DGM EN T
A N D TH E
.
from passion an d capri ce so that commod i ties rate d as rel ativ e ly
low in ou r scale o f commo diti es are el evated to an ab no rm al
“
h eight Th e common expe rienc e i n su ch express ions as We
”
bought it becaus e we w anted it though w e really knew better
fri v i al as it may se em i ndi cates a type o f economi c j udgme nt that
i s well known i n th e i ndu strial wo rl d Th is arbitrary action o f
th e w ill i s really the ba s i s o f th e industr i al phenomena o f F ash
“
”
ion Pri ce C ap ri ce and i ngenuity fix upo n on e styl e a fter
anothe r el evate it to the rank o f fa s hion i nvest it wit h an
artific i al val ue fo r a season an d then d rop i t fo r th e n ext d er
n i er
I rrational as it m ay s ee m the i rregul arity o f th i s
cri
vari abl e element m ay b e cal cul ated and i nde e d must b e cal cu
l ated i n o rgani sing the indu stri al market ; otherwi se the button
“
”
make rs woul d go bankrupt w hen b utton s went ou t o f styl e
an d ribbon maker s starve when feathers becam e fash ionabl e "
The pro duce rs o f fash ion goods count upon cap ri ce an d th e
unive rs al tendency to i mitate whi ch make s the maj ority o f p eopl e
h asten to acqu i re fo r th ems elves what they con si de r fo r t h e time
good fo rm and can estimate approxim ately how long t h ese
tem po rary i n fl at i on s o f val u e will l ast
A n othe r s ou rce o f vari abi li ty in the e conom ic j udgm ent i s
intell ectual e rro r A i s not what w e con ceive i t to be ; it i s i n
real ity B C o r D The w ill may act on a fal s e j u dgment o f
fact S uch e rro rs ari s e from in experi en ce inadequat e knowl edge
or a d e fective j udgment as to th e natu re o f goods
an d th e i r
capacity fo r s atis fying de si re The m i sappli cation o f ri ches to
still th e demands o f personality fo r s el f exp ressio n which are
seen in every capitalis ti c soci ety are exampl es o f thi s form o f
e rro r i n e conomi c j udgm ent The hollownes s wh ich the rou "
fin ds i n th e worl d a fte r mi s applying all th e goods o f th e ea rth
i s but anothe r fo rm o f th e d is sati s faction wh ich th e parvenu
finds in h i s tapestri ed drawing room whi ch fails to supply the
”
com fort o f the ol d back parlou r
Th ey have bot h w rongly
estim ated th e place o f ce rtain goods in th e scal e o f commo diti es
and endeavou red to supply want A wi th good D wit h the u sual
e ffe ct o f a roun d peg i n a square hol e
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T O T AL UT I LI T Y AND T H E ECONO M I C J U DG M EN T
98
.
element W ere the ci rcums tanc es favo rabl e w e feel i nfinite
p ossibiliti es within ou rselve s an d the human rac e fo r develop
”
ment
Wheth er w e call th is immortal ity o f the soul
or
“
geni us i t i s the convi ction o f eve ry refl ecting p erson that there
are cap aciti es W i thin him that never have b een an d unde r th e
ci rcum stan ces o f hu man l i f e n ever can be adequately real is ed
Thus an action i s not only right when it i s in harmony w ith one
pres ent known ide al but it must not shut th e doo r to f utu re prog
ress ; it mu st not prevent th e n atural development o f new pow er s
an d capaciti es To deny edu cation to p eople i s not only wrong
i n that it deni es the s ati s faction o f the l egitimate des ire for knowl
edge but b ecau s e i t debars them from becoming th e qua lity o r
typ e o f p ersons which w ith the development o f thei r potenti al
capacities they might otherwi se have become
I n the l ight o f this i nfinit e el ement in the ethi cal i deal t h e
ethic al fiel d o f activity i s coi n c i d ent with the whol e fi el d o f human
action wh ether s u ch activi ty d eal s w ith matters o f fact whi ch
may be w e i gh ed an d measu re d o r w ith m atte rs o f S pi rit whi ch
may only be valued by spiritual standards When w e act from a
regard o f ou rs elves a s capabl e o f i nfinit e d e velopm ent and per
fect i on we ar e acting ethi cally and j udgm ents conce rning such
action s ar e ethi cal j udgments
B ut i n daily l i fe many actions a re p er formed an d m any j udg
ments are m ade which bear no immediate re ference t O s u ch an
ethical i deal T hey may alway s be made to b ear re fe rence to
it by pu sh ing th e j udging criterion back one step to in clu de
cosmi c relation s B ut in the ordinary j u dgments o f val uation
which make the warp an d woo f o f p racti cal domesti c an d bu si
ness l i fe the ideal o f sel f whi ch w e apply as crite rion o f j udg
m ent i s th e economic i deal o f Total Utility I t i s th e i dea o f the
sel f as sati sfied such a state being regarded as actual ly reali sabl e ;
th e con dition o f the actual ity o f such a state o f sat i s faction being
th e comm an d ove r ce rtain scarcity goods I n all th e human pro
cesse s whi ch w e call economy wheth er it b e domestic o r so c i al ;
o f pu rs e o r o f person ; when w e en deavou r to fit togethe r th e
fragments that we have an d eke out th e bal ance w ith s u ch sub
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T O T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECON O M I C J U DG M EN T
99
s t i t u t es
as w e m ay invent ; whe n we st ret ch th e supply w e control
to cover to the gre atest extent ou r demand upon l i fe w e always
p ro cee d from th e ground that coul d we control enough we coul d
real is e ou r Tot al Utili ty F ailu r e to real ise su ch an i de al i s
always r egarded as a ci rcum stance o f goo ds not a characteristi c
o f ou r e conomi c i d eal I t i s tru e th ere i s limite d supply but
could w e control a certai n portion o f it w e S houl d n eve r want
”
anyt h ing mo re
I t i s only w h en we j udge ethically th at w e can
“
say with J evons th at eve ry satis faction o f a lowe r want i n th e
”
scal e p e rmits a h ighe r on e to m ani fest its el f
Th e economi c
total i s th e sel f regarde d as finit e an d real i sabl e ; the economi c
j udgm ent appl ie s thi s conc rete s tan dard to th e ph enomen a o f
l imi ted supply to dete rm i ne a practi cal scal e o f commod ities ; to
val u e the good s o f the wo rld
The economi c field o f activity th en covers al l acti on wh i ch
rel ates a subj ective scal e o f wan ts to th e wo rld o f l imi te d good s
I t i s l imited an d finite an d p res ents en dl ess alte rn ation s fo r
choice W e j u dge A ove r a gai ns t B w h en th e y are not equally
d isponibl e ; we choos e A rath er th an B w hen w e can not h ave both
Thu s th e ethi cal an d econom ic i deal s as w e pointed out i n the
introductory chapt e r cannot b e regarded as s eparat e o r anti
th eti cal Th e rel ation between them i s o rgan i c i n as m uch as
they are both inte rp retation s o f the e nd o f l i fe wh ich al l human
b eings se ek to real ise I n e ac h ind ivi dual cas e th ey pictu re the
en d w h i ch th e human bei ng mor e o r l e ss consciou sly acts t o
real i se T h ey m ay b e abstracted f rom on e anot h er fo r the sake
o f an aly si s ; but they ma y neve r b e re ally s ep ar ate d any mo re than
th e o rgan s o f th e body whic h t h oug h in divi dual cannot live
except i n o rgani c connectio n w ith the whol e T h e di stinction
r eally l ie s in the poi nt o f vi ew o f t h e j u dgi ng sel f W h en w e
regard the sel f i n its cosmi c rel ation s as an entity w i th
infini tely real is abl e and p erfect ab l e attribu tes an d apply such
an i deal to conduct t h us subm ittin g the f acts o f l i fe to a spi ri tual
criterion we are m aking ethical j udgments and are applying the
et h i cal ideal We are d eal ing wit h th at aspect o f the sel f wh ich
we imme di ately po stul ate to be infinit e and spi ritual Wh en
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T O T AL UT I LI T Y AND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DGM EN T
100
.
howeve r w e regard the sel f not i n its eternal or cosmi cal rela
tions but i n its finite an d temporal rel ations as b eing c ap abl e o f
complete reali sation an d s at i s faction given di spos it i on ove r an
adequate supply o f e conomi c goods ; an d apply s u ch a criterion
to th e wo rl d o f l im i ted su pply in orde r to attai n the gre ate st
po s s ibl e Total Utility w e are making economi c j u d gm ent s an d
deal ing with th e economi c i deal Th is asp ect o f th e s el f w e call
finite h uman an d real i sabl e The canon o f di stin ction whi ch
m ay b e u s ed to di ffe rentiat e ethical an d econom i c ph enomena ;
an
d eth ical an d e conomi c fiel ds o f i nve stigation and activity is
th e dete rmina tion whethe r i n a gi ven j u dgment th e criterion
appl ie d from an i nfinite an d spi ritual o r a finit e and temporal
con cept o f th e s el f Thu s the ethi c al i d e al may b e appl ied to
eve ry aspect o f li fe p rovi de d i n each act th e sel f i s recognis ed
as an i nfin i t e facto r sp i ritually rel ate d to th e co smos E very
e con omi c j udgm ent m ay b e an ethi c al o ne i f th e choi ce o f e co
nomi c goods o r th e hypothet i cal pl acing o f goods in a s cal e
“
”
o f commoditi es i s rel ate d for its e ffe ct on th e immo rtal soul
B u t th e conve rs e i s not t ru e th at eve ry ethi cal j u dgment m ay
also b e an economic one E conomi c j udgments are stri ctly con
d i t i on e d by the fact o f l imitation in th e obj ective finite wo rld o f
supply To e conom ise i s to m ake th e sto ck i n han d cover the
greatest extent o f deman d E thi cal j udgme nts are o ften made
w ith no rel ation to goods o r l imit ed supply an d h ave to do with
the s el f critici sing o r orde ring its own actions o r its actions with
ot h er p ersons regarde d as S pi ritual entiti e s
Thu s the e conom i c man i s not the naturali stic machine
wo rki ng automatically by the motive powe r o f passion and greed
that has b een so long the bogi e o f e conomists but an i deal isti c
and rational being whos e ethical and economi c conceptions o f the
“
”
“
”
end o f l i fe ar e not h armonious o r p arall el but vi sions o f
h imsel f exp resse d i n infinite and spi ritual o r in finite an d t empo ral
rel ations
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TO T AL UT I LI T Y A ND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DG M EN T
102
J e nn i n gs Ri ch ar d
,
1 85 5
N at u r al E l e men ts
.
of
P olit i cal Econ omy
of
P oliti cal E conomy ;
L on d on
.
,
.
J ev on s Willi am S t an l e y
,
1
.
T h eor y
The
.
Lon d on
,
888
.
Li n dl ey M ill e r
P r e stige V al u e
Q u ar t er ly J ou rn al
X VI I
n omi c s Vol
" u r T h eor i e d e s W e r t e s : E i n e B e n th am S t u di e
K r au s O sk ar
K e a sb ey
.
,
,
.
of
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.
H alle
“
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,
1
90
1
E co
.
,
.
J os e f C l e men s
Psy ch ol ogis ch e G ru n dl e gu n g e i n e s S yst e ms
W i en 1 9 0 2
d e r W e r tth e or i e
L ock e J oh n
E ss ay on t he Hu man Un d e r st an di n g
B oh n e diti on 1 90 1
M ac f ar l an e C W
V al u e an d D ist r ibu ti on
L ippi ncott 1 90 0
The R e l ati on b e tw e en E thi c s an d E con omi c s
I n t er
Macken s i e J S
III
n ati on al J ou r n al o f E thi c s V ol
M al th u s T h omas R
P r i n cipl e s o f P oliti c al E con omy
L on d on 1 83 6
”
An E ss ay on t h e P r i n cipl e s of P op u l ati on
L on d on 1 878
M ar ti n e au J ame s
T yp e s of E thi cal T h eor y
M ac mill an 1 89 1
“
M ill J ame s
A n alysis of t h e M i nd
L on d on 1 82 9
M ill J oh n S t u ar t
A u t obi og r aphy
H en r y H ol t 1 887
U tilit ar i an is m
H e n r y H olt 1 9 0 1
E ss ay on L ib e rty H enr y H olt 1 85 9
L ippi n cott 1 869
Th e S u b j e cti on of W om an
P r i n cipl es o f P oliti c al E con omy
L on g man G r ee n
Co 1 89 6
M it ch e ll W
Th e L og c of t h e E thi c s of E v ol u ti on
M i nd O l d
S e r i e s Vol X V
M oor e G e or g e E dw ar d
P r i n cipi a E t h i c a C amb r i dg e 1 9 0 3
“
El e me n ts of E thi c s
S cr ib n e r 1 89 8
M u i r h e ad J H
C h apt e r s f r om A r ist otl e s E thi c s
J oh n M u rr ay 1 9 0 0
P al e y Wil li am
P r i n cipl e s of M or al s an d P oliti c al Phil os ophy Col
l e ct ed W or ks
B e l ch e r E diti on 1 81 1 Vol I I I
P an t al eon i M aff eo
P u re E con omi cs
M acmill an 1 89 8
M i n d N e w S er i e s
Can th e re b e a S u m of Pl e as u r e "
R as h d al l H
Vol VI I I
M i n d N ew S er i es Vol X I
Th e C ommen s u r ability of al l Val u e s
R e id T h omas
O u tli n e s of M or al Phil os ophy
E di nb u r gh 1 880
”
Ri car d o D avid
P ri n cipl es of P oliti cal E con omy an d T ax ati on
E dit ed
by E C K G onn e r L on d on 1 89 5
Le tt er s t o T R M alth u s
O x for d 1 887
R ob e r ts on G C
H obb e s
E di n b u rgh 1 886
”
S e n i or Will i am N ass au
P oliti cal E con omy L on d on 1 876 6th e diti on
S e th A n d re w
S t u dy o f E thi cal P r i nc ipl e s
N e w " or k 1 89 8
Is Pl e as u r e t he S u mmu m B onu m P I n t e rn ati on al J ou r n al of E thi cs
Vol VI
K re i b i g
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TO T AL UT I LI T Y AND T H E ECO NO M I C J U DG M EN T
10
.
3
S e w e ll H ann ah R
The T h eor y of V al u e b e f or e A d am S mith
Mac
mill an
S idgwi ck H enr y
M acmill an 1 90 7 6t h
Th e M e th od of E thi c s
e diti on
S h af t e sb u ry A n th ony A shl ey 3 d D u k e of
C h ar act er isti c s
L on d on
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7 S3 ~
I
S h aw C h ar l e s G
T h eor y of V al u e an d its Pl ace i n t he H ist or y of
E thi c s
I n t e rnati onal J ou rn al of E thi c s V ol X I
S h er w ood S id ne y
Phil os ophi cal B asis of E con omi cs
A n n a l s of t h e
A mer i c an A cad emy Vol X
S mar t Wil li am
I n t r od u c ti on t o t he T h e ory of V al u e
M acmill an
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89 1
1
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S mith A d am
T h e or y
S t e w ar t L on d on
We alth of N ati on s
of
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880
M or al S e n ti men ts
t he
E dit e d by D u g ald
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E dit e d by T h orol d R og er s
”
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1
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.
C l ar en d on Pr e ss
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.
S or l e y W R
B l ackw ood 1 90 4
Th e E thi c s of N at u r alis m
M in d N e w S e r i es
Th e Phil os oph y of H e r b e r t of C h e r b u r y
Vol I I I
S t eph en S i r J ame s Fi t z j ame s
L ib er ty E q u ality an d F r at er n ity
H enry H ol t 1 873
S t e ph en S i r L e sli e
H ist or y of E n glish T h ou ght i n t he E ight ee n th
C en t u r y
L on don 1 881
L on d on 1 90 8
Th e E n glish U tilit ar i an s
T h omas H obb e s
M acmill an 1 9 0 4
S t u ar t H W
H e d on isti c I n t erp r e t ati on of S u b j ectiv e V al u e
J ou rn al
of P oliti cal E con om y V ol IV
S ome I mp or t an t Ph as e s i n t h e E v ol u ti on of t he Id ea
T ayl or W G L
o f V al u e
J ourn al of P oliti cal E con omy Vol I I I
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P e r f ec ti on as an E thi cal E n d
M i n d O l d S e r i e s V ol V
Thorn el y T
T u l l och J oh n
R ati on al T h eol ogy an d C h r isti an P hil os ophy i n E n gl an d
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i n t h e S e v e n t e en th C e n t u r y
E dinb u rgh 1 874
W ats on J oh n
H e d on isti c T h e or i e s f rom A r istipp u s t o S p e n s e r 1 89 5
Whit ak e r A l f r e d
H ist or y an d C r iti ci s m of t h e L ab or T h e or y o f
V al u e
C ol u mbi a P re ss 1 9 0 4
Wi e s e r M F ri e d r i ch
N at u r a l V a l u e
M ac mill an
W oodb r idg e F J E
The Pl ac e of Pl e as u r e i n a S yst e m o f E thi c s
I n t ern ati on a l J ou rnal of E thi c s V ol VI I
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