The Concept of Justice: Utilitarianism Evaluating Justice The actions you decide to take in life have consequences. In an ideal world you will be rewarded for being good, while making bad decisions will be consequences. This is what many fail to realize about legal systems. Many individuals expect to get off easy after committing a crime, when ideally, everyone should be able to distinguish between right and wrong, and understand that there are consequences to unlawful action. Unfortunately many people have inadequate morals, and a lot of individuals fail, or just refuse, to see the difference between just and unjust. The concepts utilitarianism (welfare), and libertarianism (freedom), are arguments of virtue, meaning they are in favor of solutions that are morally right. These concepts refer to two pieces of literature: “Justice” by Michael Sandel, and “Antigone” by Sophocles. Utilitarianism is best applied to these texts and most specifically demonstrated through the actions of King Creon in the play Antigone. Utilitarianism, an argument of welfare decided the solution to all problems is to choose the option that benefits the …show more content…
The antagonist in the play, King Creon, demonstrates the actions of a utilitarian by solely living his life to serving the majority of his community and doesn 't let his personal affairs get in the way of what 's best for his municipality. Creon stressed: "Whoever places a friend above the good of his own country, he is nothing: I have no use for him.... "I could never stand by silent, watching destruction march against our city, putting safety to rout, nor could I ever make that man a friend of mine who menaces our country. Remember this: our country is our safety. Only while she voyages on the true course can we establish friendships, truer than blood itself? Such are my standards.