The concept of utilitarianism refers to the doctrine that actions are right if they are useful for the benefit of a majority. The doctrine is that an action is right in so far as it promotes happiness, and that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the guiding principle of conduct. Here, we are referring to lawful actions.

Utilitarianism, to my understanding, is an ethical theory that determines right from wrong by focusing on outcomes. It is a form of consequentialism. The common good approach is that utilitarianism sees all individuals as part of a larger community. Therefore, utilitarian principles and concepts weigh the net balance of goodness and harm produced by a certain action on a group of individuals.

It is also the most common approach to moral reasoning used in business because of how it accounts for costs and benefits. Utilitarian reasoning can be used for many different purposes. It can be used both for moral reasoning and for any type of rational decision-making. In addition to applying in different contexts, it can also be used for deliberations about the interests of different persons and groups. How then does this principle apply to COVID-19 vaccination? Is it for the common good? What of the balance of goodness and harm?

The principles and concept of utilitarianism require us to look beyond self-interest to consider impartially the interests of all individuals affected by our actions. As English philosopher and political economist John Stuart Mill once wrote: :The happiness which forms the utilitarian standard of what is right in conduct, is not…[one’s] own happiness, but that of all concerned. As between his happiness and that of others, utilitarianism requires him to be as strictly impartial as a disinterested and benevolent spectator.”

Commenting on the many economic and social problems that American society confronts, Newsweek columnist Robert J Samuelson once wrote: “We face a choice between a society where people accept modest sacrifices for a common good or a more contentious society where groups selfishly protect their benefits.” The common good has been an important ethical concept in a society that has encouraged many to “look out for number 1”.

Often, people judge what is best not only for themselves or other individuals but also what is best for groups, friends, families, or one’s country, etc. Jeremy Bentham, an English philosopher, and other utilitarians on the principles of utilitarianism were interested in political groups and public policies. Therefore, they often focused on discovering which actions and policies would maximise the well-being of the relevant group.

Many of us use these types of moral reasoning frequently in our daily decisions. When asked to explain why we feel we have a moral duty to perform some action, we often point to the good that will come from the action or the harm it will prevent. Business analysts, legislators, and scientists weigh daily the resulting benefits and harms of policies when deciding, for example, whether to invest resources in a certain public project, whether to approve a new drug, or whether to ban a certain pesticide.

The common good, then, consists primarily of having the social systems, institutions, and environments on which we all depend, and work in a manner that benefits all people. Examples of common goods, or parts of the common good, include an accessible and affordable public health care system, an effective system of public safety and security, peace among the nations of the world, a just legal and political system, an unpolluted natural environment, and a flourishing economic system.

Generally, it is argued that utilitarians have supported democracy as a way of making the interest of Government coincide with the general interest. It has been argued that the greatest individual liberty compatible with equal liberty for others is on the ground that individuals are generally the best judges of their welfare, and they have believed in the possibility and desirability of progressive social change through peaceful political processes. However, in today’s era, that some have characterised as “the age of self-interest”, utilitarianism is a powerful reminder that morality calls us to look beyond the self to the good of all.

Christopher Bryan has read for master’s degrees in government and national security and strategic studies. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or christopher.bryan1000@gmail.com.