Introduction
Bentham argues that human beings are dominated by pain and pleasure. He says that people have the authority to determine the things they need to do. In his theory of utility, Bentham argues that every behavior is supposed to be evaluated as good or bad depending on how it supports or destroys the happiness of society. He further stated that human actions are provoked by a need to achieve happiness and evade pain. In this way, the maximum pleasure for the utmost number determines what is right or wrong. He felt that lawmakers should be able to use these teachings in governing society. Bentham stated that lawmakers ought to control the behaviors by which people tried to achieve happiness. He suggested that punishment and reward was the best way the lawmakers would regulate individual’s search for pleasure. He felt that through exaction of pain individuals would have a cause to avoid all forms of socially damaging actions. (Bentham, 1988)
Main body
He argued that the laws ought to be obtained from the will of the lawmakers and they needed to have a power or prohibition that is promoted by a warning of punishment. In what he called utilitarian democracy, Bentham stated that the happiness that lawmakers were looking for as human beings needed to match with the people’s happiness. He suggested that the lawmakers should be formed by an electoral system, which would release them from office when they broke the law. He supported the idea of secret voting, women’s rights, equal electoral localities, and yearly elections. In the 1830s and 1840s, fundamental parliamentary reformers implemented most of his policies. He also said that the government should be concerned with the avoidance of crime and joblessness. (Waller, 2008)
Bentham felt that the poor should be provided with relief and that the government should supervise it. This was because he felt that maximum happiness belief entailed that all people were to be protected from starvation. His ideology led to the establishment of Lay the Foundation an organization that established the goodwill of the people of Great Britain. In England, the middle-class group to ensure that their wealth was protected adopted the Utilitarian beliefs. This was because the theory advocated for the pursuit of pleasure with the idea of wealth as ethically good. In 1833, the criminal laws system was established and the punishment of lesser crimes was minimized in 1837. The Poor Law Amendment Act that was also influenced by Bentham’s utilitarian principles was approved in 1834. This allowed the housing and protection of the poor in their own areas thus giving the poor the assistance they needed. (Bentham, 1988)
Bentham advocated for the creation of new education laws that would improve the education sector. This led to the formation of the first committee of Education in 1839. In Betham’s Constitutional code, he called for the selection of a minister to monitor safety rules in mines and industries. Bentham’s ideology also saw the formation of the Lunacy Act in 1845. The passing of this law saw the beginning of an era where insanity began to be treated as a medical issue rather than a moral setback. Bentham’s utilitarian theories contributed so much to the social reforms that took place in Great Britain especially during the period of the Industrial Revolution. (Waller, 2008)
Conclusion
Bentham’s ideologies were implemented in many sectors in the 1830s and 1840s. His principles formed the basis of many government policies that are practiced even in our current society. His ideologies were very strong and well thought and they have benefited many nations today.
References
Bentham, J. (1988).The Principles of Morals and Legislation. Amherst: Prometheus Books.
Waller, B. N. (2008). Consider Ethics: Theory, Readings, and Contemporary Issues (2nd Ed). New York: Pearson/Longman.