"Utilitarianism" by John Stuart Mill (Dover Thrift Editions)

Short, but important book, amidst our global society normalizing violence over contradictory beliefs: where commons being blinded by what's considered good and/or bad.

It is in this day, given current global conditions, where a necessity in running back to basics shall be considered. The pursuit of good couldn't be more prevalent, and this classic title, published by Dover's Thrift Editions, is readily available at an affordable price. Do not let the 55-page sized book fool you, as there are an astounding amount of informational nuances for readers to absorb: a topic baring serious discussion with today's standardized vagaries.

Written in Benthamism style, Mill has ran through the definition, its meanings, and various examples defining what is a utilitarian good—Happiness principle. Readers will learn acquirement of happiness, sacrifices needed in pursuit for fulfillment, and more. Readers will also learn the good done in terms of duty, partial to oneself and society—other citizens. If a citizen witnesses someone struggling, wouldn't be 'right' to help them? Modern day has ruined this gesture of generosity, as scammers, and those who end up not repaying their offerings, have become commonplace; this makes the philosophy difficult to secure. Mill, then, mentioned those with higher moralities, being a symbol of someone which society can compliment and follow as the more righteous good. For those who are Christians, it's easy citing The Bible to the most good which we must follow. Assuming we're to demonstrate, and live, the ultimate goodness, under eyes of God, how do we know that our behaviors, backed by law, is considered good? Mill goes over these in depth as well.

"Men lose their high aspirations as they lose their intellectual tastes, because they have not time or opportunity for indulging them; and they addict themselves to inferior pleasures, not because they deliberately prefer them, but because they are either the only ones to which they have access, or the only ones which they are any longer capable of enjoying."
— CHAPTER II. WHAT UTILITARIANISM IS, p. 09

Statements, like one quoted above, speak volumes today. Why is "doomscrolling" a default with regards to living today? The current populace have veered toward lives of meaninglessness: an issue begging for more discussion, opposing digital conveniences available at the ready. (In addition, this was an attempted response to such issue on our blog post titled, On Finding Your Purpose in Life.) This isn't to say that Mill predicted the future, but because it was a problem then, it's gotten exponentially worse today. Living a life "doomscrolling" to avoid struggles alongside sounds like a net negative: disinterested in pursuing the good, for both society and ourselves.

"With many the test of justice in penal infliction is that the punishment should be proportioned to the offence; meaning that it should be exactly measured by the moral guilt of the culprit (whatever be their standard for measuring moral guilt): the consideration, what amount of punishment is necessary to deter from the offence, having nothing to do with the question of justice, in their estimation: while there are others to whom that consideration is all in all; who maintain that it is not just, at least for man, to inflict on a fellow creature, whatever may be his offences, any amount of suffering beyond the least that will suffice to prevent him from repeating, and others from imitating, his misconduct."
— CHAPTER V. ON THE CONNEXION BETWEEN JUSTICE AND UTILITY, p. 49

There has been an increase of criminal operations, post-lockdown; some which are done for online attention, and others being career-based. An irrational subservience to these criminals without proper punishment is an unjust act toward innocent citizens, given their criminalities bring the least amount of good—releasing them back in society, where repeat offenses remain dire. For the judges making these decisions, releasing such criminals without punishing them accordingly, wouldn't their gesture signify a "law-breaking" stance against utilitarianism? Mill will likely think so. It is such criminal offenses, where lives are/were at stake, that commits the least happiness by way of disregarding common good—high-trust societies, no less. Mill goes through explaining this tie-in eloquently.

A thorough presentation in an area under philosophical ethics, like this title, will bring readers to reflect on our pursuit of happiness—the least painful conjecture. While Mill has stated some opposing views with regard to utilitarianism, readers will learn of it, yet come away standing by the beauty this philosophy expresses. Students, professors, and readers of every kind will gain plenty from this book, enough to change the current cultural discourse. A population whose time is running out, perhaps it's this simple book that may plant seeds needed to blossom into an array of peace regaining the high-trust many cultural critics yearn for. Even if certain scenarios challenge those who believe in such philosophy, it's a solid reminder doing the best good for both oneself and of others remains one of our best options.

For those in the sociological, psychological, political, philosophical, and humanities space, this title is strongly recommended.

Kris Caballero

Founder of KCU Network and KCU Plus, Kris has been writing since he started blogging in late 2005. Officially back to doing computer programming, Kris enjoys reading books on Mathematics, Quantum Computing, Philosophy, plus playing old video/MS-DOS games, digital video archiving, listening to sports, public radio and classical music.

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