Don’t Worry, Be Happy
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2019/04/atilla-mert-sulker/where-utilitarians-go-wrong/
The freedom movement in America today can be divided into two main camps- deontological and utilitarian. The former tends to be in favor of the age old natural rights tradition, while the latter judges the effectiveness of the freedom movement in terms of how much prosperity it leads to. While it is rather easy to adopt the latter position, rooted in the argument that humans naturally tend to judge actions by their effectiveness in improving their own happiness, the utilitarian doctrine has its flaws, and one fundamental flaw in regards to the state.
I should first note that utilitarianism itself has nothing to say in regards to the state or the freedom movement. Cut and dried, utilitarianism is a moral doctrine that simply aims at the maximization of happiness. It says nothing as to how this can be achieved, and to what extent certain political frameworks maximize happiness. One could be an anarchist or a statist and still see that utilitarianism fits within their respective political framework.
Utilitarianism in a voluntaryist framework could certainly oppose the natural rights tradition in the following manner: Individuals will avoid committing crimes not because they fear that they will violate someone’s natural rights, but rather because they will come to realize that committing more crimes leads to an overall decrease in happiness. Thus they will support individualism and non-aggression on the basis that it will help increase overall happiness in society, not because they think that humans have certain inalienable rights. Read the rest of this entry »
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