Eco 400
An Economist 's Perspective
He was sent to Oxford by the age of twelve, to study law as his father did. In 1748 Jeremy Bentham was born to a London attorney and his wife. However, Bentham 's attention turned to law reform while at college and was opposed to practicing law (The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics, 2008). His interests became devoted to studying and writing, many times spending several hours a day writing. Even though Bentham wrote a great deal in his lifespan, several of his works were left unpublished until his demise (Brue & Grant, 2011) . His most familiar theoretical work was the “Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation”. This book described Bentham’s philosophy that concentrated around "the greatest happiness principle”. One of Bentham 's more notable endeavors was the founding of University College, London (UCL). Bentham perished in 1832, leaving a multitude of non-published writings (The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics, 2008).
While the ideals and principles of both Thomas Malthus and Jeremy Bentham were considered utilitarian, these two men did not share many mutual ideas. Thomas Robert Malthus was included with the utilitarian’s because of the ground of his general principles but he was a not a follower of Bentham rather he preferred the works of Paley and Tucker. Conversely, the motivating force behind the thinking of Malthus differed from Bentham 's. Bentham, as was influential of the philosophers of the classical school of thought believed that there could be a perfect society, a utopia (Brue & Grant, 2011). On the other hand, Malthus proclaimed that a perfect society would never exist. He alleged that each society was destined to experience vice and misery (Brue & Grant, 2011).
As described in “Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation”, Bentham held that government, morality, and life should be concentrated around "the greatest happiness principle." He said that pleasure and pains
He was sent to Oxford by the age of twelve, to study law as his father did. In 1748 Jeremy Bentham was born to a London attorney and his wife. However, Bentham 's attention turned to law reform while at college and was opposed to practicing law (The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics, 2008). His interests became devoted to studying and writing, many times spending several hours a day writing. Even though Bentham wrote a great deal in his lifespan, several of his works were left unpublished until his demise (Brue & Grant, 2011) . His most familiar theoretical work was the “Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation”. This book described Bentham’s philosophy that concentrated around "the greatest happiness principle”. One of Bentham 's more notable endeavors was the founding of University College, London (UCL). Bentham perished in 1832, leaving a multitude of non-published writings (The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics, 2008).
While the ideals and principles of both Thomas Malthus and Jeremy Bentham were considered utilitarian, these two men did not share many mutual ideas. Thomas Robert Malthus was included with the utilitarian’s because of the ground of his general principles but he was a not a follower of Bentham rather he preferred the works of Paley and Tucker. Conversely, the motivating force behind the thinking of Malthus differed from Bentham 's. Bentham, as was influential of the philosophers of the classical school of thought believed that there could be a perfect society, a utopia (Brue & Grant, 2011). On the other hand, Malthus proclaimed that a perfect society would never exist. He alleged that each society was destined to experience vice and misery (Brue & Grant, 2011).
As described in “Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation”, Bentham held that government, morality, and life should be concentrated around "the greatest happiness principle." He said that pleasure and pains
References: Brue, S., & Grant, R. (2011). The Evolution of Economic Thought (7th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Cambridge Journals. (2012). T.R. Malthus. Retrieved from http://journals.cambridge.org/action/stream?pageId=2488&sessionId=60A8935EACE9EA4E94399B470129255C.journals Sandmo, A. (2010). Economics Evolving: A History of Economic Thought. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. (2008). Jeremy Bentham. Retrieved from http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Bentham.html The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. (2008). Thomas Robert Malthus. Retrieved from http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Malthus.html