Mill Utilitarianism

When looking at various forms of moral reasoning in government parties’ principles such as individual morality, fairness, and respect for persons are all subjective based on an individuals’ needs, wants, beliefs, etc. In other words, stances on what is moral will vary from person to person, and thus these particular principles become irrelevant in a national competition known as the Presidential Election. Thus I turn to Mill’s utilitarian principle. Mill’s principle states that any action must promote happiness in the total population to be ruled moral. Stated more simply: majority of the populace must be “happy” with federal decisions, and majority’s happiness is what determines morality. Consequently, the principle of utility is what various

Alas, in America laws are not applied to only the directly affected, but to a whole, governed body. That leaves the issue of whether homosexual marriage should be recognized as a federal or state issue. Republicans demand that according to the 10th amendment -the federal government’s power is dictated only by what is in the Constitution, all other power is given to the people and the states- it is a state’s right to recognize or nullify a marriage. If one wished to continue to read past the 10th amendment, they would inevitably skim the 14th, which limits the state’s power to not “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” or ” deprive any person of life, liberty, or property”. To deny a person a lawfully protected marriage is to breach the clearly recorded rights preserved by the 14th amendment. When a law breaches an amendment it is declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, the highest federal court, ergo making it a federal

The GOP’s stance on abortion is unmoving; there are no exceptions. The GOP’s site even clearly states its stance on using previously-aborted fetuses for stem cell research. They also vow to offer healthcare to fetuses, to ensure their birth. Earlier this year we, as a class, debated abortion. The morality of abortion lies solely on the definition of life. To debate this in its entirety would take too much time; opinions on abortion infinitely vary dependent on the person. To save time, instead of debating the morality of abortion, it is easier to resort to the principle of utility and use that to dissect legality of abortion. So, what is America’s take on abortion, in numbers? In 2015, according to gallop.com, 50% of American’s stand pro-choice, while 44% stand pro-life- 2% stands unclaimed. Another poll released by a more liberal news-source, CNN, in 2014 claims 58% of Americans oppose