1. Collective interest vs. individual interest in Bentham's Felicific Calculus. Questioning welfarism and fairness
- Author
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Antoinette Baujard, GATE, Centre de recherche en économie et management (CREM), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU), ANR-05-BLAN-0375,3LB(2005), Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon - Saint-Etienne (GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne), École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-Université Lumière - Lyon 2 (UL2)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne (UJM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Faccarello, G. et R. Sturn, Beudon, Soledad, Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique (GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Lyon-Université Jean Monnet [Saint-Étienne] (UJM)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université Lumière - Lyon 2 (UL2)-École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon), Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Université de Rennes (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), and Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Université de Rennes (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
Felicific calculus ,formal welfarism ,utilitarianism ,goodness and fairness ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Welfarism ,Economics, Econometrics and Finance (miscellaneous) ,Social Welfare ,individual utility ,JEL: D - Microeconomics/D.D6 - Welfare Economics ,0603 philosophy, ethics and religion ,ethical welfarism ,History and Philosophy of Science ,welfarisme ,welfarism ,0502 economics and business ,Utilitarianism ,non-welfarisme ,Economics ,Interest ,Political philosophy ,JEL: B - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches/B.B1 - History of Economic Thought through 1925/B.B1.B12 - Classical (includes Adam Smith) ,050207 economics ,Positive economics ,[SHS.ECO] Humanities and Social Sciences/Economics and Finance ,media_common ,external effects ,General Arts and Humanities ,Welfare economics ,05 social sciences ,utilitarisme ,Doctrine ,Bentham ,calcul d'utilité ,Interest,utility,is and ought,external effects,goodness and fairness,welfarism,formal welfarism,ethical welfarism ,06 humanities and the arts ,16. Peace & justice ,[SHS.ECO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Economics and Finance ,Core (game theory) ,is and ought ,If and only if ,utility calculus ,utility ,060302 philosophy ,JEL: D - Microeconomics/D.D6 - Welfare Economics/D.D6.D63 - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement ,bien-être social ,JEL: B - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches/B.B3 - History of Economic Thought: Individuals/B.B3.B31 - Individuals ,social welfare ,utilité individuelle - Abstract
International audience; The core idea of utilitarianism for Bentham is to establish that only individual utilities count in social welfare. There can be two distinct interpretations of this apparently simple principle. According to one view, individual utilities represent the basic information for the calculation of social welfare: this is how utilitarianism works. According to a second view, social welfare is maximized if and only if individual utilities are maximized: this is what justifies utilitarianism. This aim of this paper is to show: that these two interpretations should not be confused; that they correspond to distinct definitions of welfarism; that they are likely to conflict; and that as a consequence we can draw important and surprising conclusions for political philosophy and economic science. One such conclusion is that fairness should be prior to goodness in a consistent Benthamian doctrine.
- Published
- 2010
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