Named source · 1776

A Fragment on Government Quotes by Jeremy Bentham: Context & Meanings

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it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong

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“it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong”

Jeremy Bentham

Voice: Authorial / signed preface voice · Jeremy Bentham

Meaning & context

Bentham states the utilitarian standard he uses to judge laws and institutions: their moral evaluation should turn on the happiness produced for the people affected.

Source details

A Fragment on Government, Preface (1776). Bentham introduces the 'greatest happiness of the greatest number' formulation as a fundamental axiom while arguing for criticism and reform of established law. This remains eighteenth-century utilitarian legal/political philosophy rather than a settled universal ethical or policy metric.

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