Acta Oeconomica Pragensia 2014, 22(6):90-97 | DOI: 10.18267/j.aop.461

Utilitarianism According to John Stuart Mill

Martin Janíčko1, Pavel Janíčko2
1 Bankovní institut vysoká škola, Nárožní 2600/9, 158 00 Praha 5 (e-mail: martin.janicko@moodys.com).
2 Bankovní institut vysoká škola, Nárožní 2600/9, 158 00 Praha 5 (e-mail: janicko.pavel@cmkos.cz).

The article discusses utilitarianism in the form elaborated by John Stuart Mill. Although utilitarianism has been variously employed by philosophers and economists, Mill is the figure most closely associated with this theory. His ideas deeply influenced economists of the 20th century and continue to shape the postulates of contemporary economics and other social sciences. We demonstrate how seminal utilitarianism was to Mill's work, explore what influenced his thoughts on it, and place our analysis in the socioeconomic context of the time Mill was writing. We argue that utilitarianism has eclipsed Mill's other contributions to economics, yet is often oversimplified and has unjustly served as a platform for a more general critique of homo economicus.

Keywords: utilitarianism, social sciences, laissez-faire, classical economics, hedonism, individualism
JEL classification: B12, B31, B40

Published: October 1, 2014  Show citation

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Janíčko, M., & Janíčko, P. (2014). Utilitarianism According to John Stuart Mill. Acta Oeconomica Pragensia, 22(6), 90-97. doi: 10.18267/j.aop.461
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