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John Stuart Mill Utilitarianism Essay

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Emily Gaffney Dr. Parsons Philosophy 1000 17 September 2017 Mill’s Utilitarianism In this essay, I will be applying Mill’s modification of Utilitarianism to a scenario presented to me by my instructor: Imagining for a moment that I am a wealthy entrepreneur who wishes to donate $100,000 to flood relief, where will my money go? Recent flooding in Houston, Texas and another spanning the regions of Bangladesh, Nepal, and India in South Asia have left remarkable damages to the areas. Using Mill’s idea of Utilitarianism, how should my money be distributed? My calculation will come from the subjective perspective of myself as the hypothetical agent. Simply put, the Utilitarian view maximizes pleasure over pain. Mill’s modification clarifies Bentham’s philosophy stating that the best …show more content…

In third world countries such as those affected by the flooding, the poor infrastructure and increasing poverty makes for a far more drastic aftermath for those subject to the destruction. Donation towards both causes contradicts the Utilitarian belief system in the sense that it maximizes pleasure for a smaller amount of people while minimizing it for the remainder of the affected population. While the total cost of recovery in the South Asian countries exceeds that of Houston by nearly 300 billion USD, the number of people affected in South Asia exceeds that of Houston by 38 million. The $100,000 donation could provide food, basic shelter, and medical care for 1,000 people in Houston and 4,000 people in the regions of Bangladesh, Nepal, and India. Considering the fact that the money could help four times as many people in South Asia supports the Utilitarian belief in bringing the most amount of happiness to the greatest number of people. Money donated towards flood relief in the South Asian regions of Bangladesh, Nepal, and India in South Asia would benefit a much larger group of people whose pain has already been

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