Utilitarianism and Democracy in America

Abstract

This paper analyzes the fundamentals of the utilitarian philosophy and its relationship with democracy in the United States of America. It addresses the issue through two sections: A first one aimed at reconsidering the contributions that the dialogue with some authors had in the relation of Bentham with the ideas of the American colonists, which led to the publication of the Fragment on Government, as a prelude to the publication of its Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, as well as the utilitarian arguments in favor of Democracy in America; and a second section, whose objective is to understand the fundamentals of the utilitarian critique of the notion of natural rights.