Utilitarianism is a moral theory that whose core idea of judging whether actions are right or wrong is dependent on the effects they produce. Jeremy Bentham was a classical utilitarian and a social reformist who believed that the sole purpose of morality is to live better by increasing the number of good things in the world and reducing the number of bad things. Philosophers refer to the theory of utilitarianism as a teleological system and Bentham came across the idea of the theory after coming through a phrase "the greatest happiness of the greatest number" in Joseph Priestly's Treatise of Government . Through his hedonic calculus an ethical system that revolved around the idea of pleasure. Hedonism pursued physical pleasure and avoided physical pain suggesting that an act would be moral if it brings the highest amount of pleasure and the least amount of pain. Bentham believed that pain and pleasure not only explains our actions but defines what is ethical and moral and provide a foundation for moral, social, legal reforms in the society.
Individuals Affected
Utilitarianism disapproves death penalty arguing that it is administered in a way that a criminal pays for his crimes. They argue that the role of punishment should be to prevent any future crime by either inflicting fear of punishment on criminals or by reforming criminals so that they become better individuals in the society. Utilitarianism argues that every law and decision that is made should produce the best result for the greatest number of people. Sentencing criminals to death are not morally upright as such an action goes against the Greatest Happiness Principle. Only a few individuals will benefit from the death of the criminal. Death of a criminal may bring compassion to the family of a victim killed by a friend but does not bring justice for the loss of a dear one. The society might also lose a great deal because the criminal could have been more beneficial than dead if he/she could have been instituted in a reform center. Criminals have the capability of changing into responsible members of the society and help in initiating development programs in the community. The government also loses as it gains nothing from hanging criminals in comparison to when they impose fines on such individuals. Fines are a source of government revenue and used in infrastructural development in the nation. For the government to make moral decisions, they must first consider the outcomes of certain actions. The consequences of any action taken by the government should limit pain and provide greater happiness.
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Available Options
Utilitarianism argues that death penalty is retributive and it is not meant to provide justice by taking "an eye for an eye." Though death penalty causes pain to the criminal, utilitarianism argues that it could be the best punishment if it will do a greater good when it is established that if the criminal is released from prison, he might commit murder again. Hence the taking of one life will be justified if it will prevent the taking of other innocent lives. Another viable option is to subject the criminals to life imprisonment and make them provide labor to government institutions without pay. Examples of work they can perform include; participating in community cleaning by collecting trash or slash overgrown grass in government educational institutions. Such work performed by criminals will bring greater good to the community.
The conduct of death penalty is morally inappropriate and goes against the principle of utility which suggests that right actions are those that result in greater overall well-being for the people than any other possible actions. Bentham further argues that death penalty does not prevent crime from happening and hence it should not be acceptable. Utilitarian believed that nobody directly benefits from the death of the criminals and adopting other forms of punishment would have actual benefit to the society and produce more positive results.
