The Utilitarianism Theory
The utilitarianism theory presents an ideology that any action taken by an individual should try to provide the greatest good to the greatest number of people. Mill's good is happiness and satisfaction obtained by completing a certain action or consuming a specific good (Mulgan, 2014). According to this concept, the term utility refers to the satisfaction offered by consuming the good. According to the theory, utility is the amount of satisfaction, and it is subject to measurement, identification, and should be computed with a method of classifying it in order of preference. For this reason, having two types of commodities to be consumed by an individual, the commodity that provides the greatest good; that is the greatest amount of satisfaction should be considered suitable according to this theory.
The Main Controversy
Mill identifies this good as utility and indicates that utility fit the characteristics of measurability, identifiability, and it should be consistent across time (Sheng, 2009). The main controversy that raises question regarding this theory is that utility is actually intangible and cannot be estimated. This is because it cannot be seen and depends on an individual’s preference and likelihood. For instance, one individual may prefer chocolate to ice cream, while another may prefer the reverse of that. For this reason, providing a universal standard of measurement is, therefore, a difficult thing to do. According to Mill, a standard of measurement should be instituted to utility, and its measurement should be universal. Since in reality, it may turn out impossible to measure a normative preference, this may be providing a limitation to this theory. Since we cannot identify utility, it will be difficult to derive the amount of satisfaction/happiness from consuming a good.
References
Mulgan, T. (2014). Classical utilitarianism. Understanding Utilitarianism, 7-44. doi:10.1017/upo9781844653904.002
Sheng, Q. (2009). A utilitarian general theory of value. Hsinchu, Taiwan: Nation Chiao Tung University Press.
