itselfasthereforeaffordingtheonesafecluetoalltheintricateproblemsofhumanconduct。TheauthorsoftheFederalist，forexample，hadsaidthatjusticewasthe’endofgovernment。’’Whynothappiness?’asksBentham。’Whathappinessiseverymanknows，becausewhatpleasureis，everymanknows，andwhatpainis，everymanknows。Butwhatjusticeis——thisiswhatoneveryoccasionisthesubject-matterofdispute。’7*thatphrasegiveshisviewinanutshell。Justiceisthemeans，nottheend。Thatisjustwhichproducesamaximumofhappiness。OmitallreferencetoHappiness，andJusticebecomesameaninglesswordprescribingequality，butnottellingusequalityofwhat。Happiness，ontheotherhand，hasasubstantialandindependentmeaningfromwhichthemeaningofjusticecanbededuced。Ithasthereforealogicalpriority：andtoattempttoignorethisisthewaytoallthelabyrinthsofhopelessconfusionbywhichlegislationhasbeenmadeachaos。Bentham’spositionisindicatedbyhisearlyconflictwithBlackstone，notaverypowerfulrepresentativeoftheoppositeprinciple。Blackstone，infact，hadtriedtobasehisdefenceofthateminentlyempiricalproduct，theBritishConstitution，uponsomeshowofaphilosophicalgroundwork。Hehadusedthevagueconceptionofa’socialcontract，’frequentlyinvokedforthesamepurposeattherevolutionof1688，andtoekeouthisargumentsappliedtheancientcommonplacesaboutmonarchy，aristocracy，anddemocracy。Hethustriedtoinvesttheconstitutionwiththesanctityderivedfromthismysterious’contract，’whileappealingalsototraditionortheincarnate’wisdomofourancestors，’asshownbytheirjudiciousmixtureofthethreeforms。Benthamhadaneasytask，thoughheperformeditwithremarkablevigour，inexposingtheweaknessofthisheterogeneousaggregate。Lookclosely，andthisfictitiouscontractcanimposenonewobligation：fortheobligationitselfrestsuponUtility。WhynotappealtoUtilityatonce?Iamboundtoobey，notbecausemygreat-grandfathermayberegardedashavingmadeabargain，whichhedidnotreallymake，withthegreat-grandfatherofGeorgeIII；butsimplybecauserebelliondoesmoreharmthangood。Theformsofgovernmentareabstractions，notnamesofrealities，andtheir’mixture’isapurefigment。King，Lords，andCommonsarenotreallyincarnationsofpower，wisdom，andgoodness。Theircombinationformsasystemthemeritsofwhichmustinthelastresortbejudgedbyitsworking。’Itistheprincipleofutility，accuratelyapprehendedandsteadilyapplied，thataffordstheonlyclewtoguideamanthroughthesestreights。’8*SomuchinfactBenthammightlearnfromHume；andtodefenduponanyothergroundthecongeriesoftraditionalarrangementswhichpassedfortheBritishConstitutionwasobviouslyabsurd。ltwasinthiswarfareagainsttheshiftingandambiguousdoctrinesofBlackstonethatBenthamfirstshowedthesuperiorityofhisownmethod：for，asbetweenthetwo，Bentham’spositionisatleastthemostcoherentandintelligible。
　　Blackstone，however，representslittlemorethanabitofrhetoricembodyingfragmentsofinconsistenttheories。TheMoralsandLegislationopensbybrieflyandcontemptuouslysettingasidemorephilosophicalopponentsofUtilitarianism。
　　The’ascetic’principle，forexample，istheformalcontradictionoftheprincipleofUtility，foritprofessedlydeclarespleasuretobeevil。Coulditbeconsistentlycarriedoutitwouldturnearthintohell。Butinfactitisatbottomanillegitimatecorollaryfromtheveryprinciplewhichitostensiblydenies。Itprofessestocondemnpleasureingeneral；itreallymeansthatcertainpleasurescanonlybeboughtatanexcessivecostofpain。
　　Othertheoriesarecontrivancesforavoidingtheappeal’toanyexternalstandard’；andinsubstance，therefore，theymaketheopinionoftheindividualtheoristanultimateandsufficientreason。AdamSmithbyhisdoctrineof’sympathy’makesthesentimentofapprovalitselftheultimatestandard。
　　Myfeelingechoesyours，andreciprocally；eachcannotderiveauthorityfromtheother。AnothermanHutchesoninventsathingmadeonpurposetotellhimwhatisrightandwhatiswrongandcallsita’moralsense。’Beattiesubstitutes’common’for’moral’sense，andhisdoctrineisattractivebecauseeverymansupposeshimselftopossesscommon-sense。Others，likePrice，appealtotheUnderstanding，or，likeClarke，tothe’Fitnessofthings，’ortheyinventsuchphrasesas’LawofNature，’or’RightReason’or’NaturalJustice，’
　　orwhatyouplease。Eachreallymeansthatwhateverhesaysisinfalliblytrueandself-evident。Wollastondiscoversthattheonlywrongthingistellingalie；orthatwhenyoukillyourfather，itisawayofsayingthatheisnotyourfather，andthesamemethodisapplicabletoanyconductwhichhehappenstodislike。The’fairestandopenestofthemall’isthemanwhosays，’IamofthenumberoftheElect’；GodtellstheElectwhatisright：
　　thereforeifyouwanttoknowwhatisright，youhaveonlytocometome。9*
　　Benthamiswritinghereinhispithieststyle。Hiscriticismisofcourseoftheroughandreadyorder；butIthinkthatinafashionhemanagestohitthenailprettywellonthehead。
　　Hismainpoint，atanyrate，isclear。Hearguesbrieflythatthealternativesystemsareillusorybecausetheyrefertono’externalstandard。’Hisopponents，nothe，reallymakemoralityarbitrary。This，whatevertheultimatetruth，isinfacttheessentialcoreofalltheUtilitariandoctrinedescendedfromorrelatedtoBenthamism。Benthamismaimsatconvertingmoralityintoascience。
　　Science，accordingtohim，mustrestuponfacts。Itmustapplytorealthings，andtothingswhichhavedefiniterelationsandacommonmeasure。Now，ifanythingbereal，painsandpleasuresarereal。Theexpectationofpainorpleasuredeterminesconduct；and，ifso，itmustbethesoledeterminantofconduct。Theattempttoconcealorevadethistruthisthefatalsourceofallequivocationandconfusion。Trytheexperiment。Introducea’moralsense。’Whatisitsrelationtothedesireforhappiness?Ifthedictatesofthemoralsensebetreatedasultimate，anabsolutelyarbitraryelementisintroduced；andwehaveOneofthe’innateideas’explodedbyLocke，abeliefsummarilyintrudedintothesystemwithoutdefiniterelationstoanyotherbeliefs：adogmaticassertionwhichrefusestobetestedortobecorrelatedwithotherdogmas；areductionthereforeofthewholesystemtochaos。Itisatbestaninstinctivebeliefwhichrequirestobejustifiedandcorrectedbyreferencetosomeothercriterion。Orresolvemoralityinto’reason，’
　　thatis，intosomepurelylogicaltruth，anditthenremainsintheair——
　　amerenonentityuntilexperiencehassuppliedsomematerialuponwhichitcanwork。Denytheprincipleofutility，inshort，ashesaysinavigorouspassage，10*andyouareinvolvedinahopelesscircle。Soonerorlateryouappealtoanarbitraryanddespoticprincipleandfindthatyouhavesubstitutedwordsforthoughts。
　　Theonlyescapefromthiscircleisthefrankadmissionthathappinessis，infact，thesoleaimofman。Thereare，ofcourse，differentkindsofhappinessastherearedifferentkindsofphysicalforces。Butthemotivestoactionare，likethephysicalforces，commensurable。Twocoursesofconductcanalwaysbecomparedinrespectofthehappinessproduced，astwomotionsofabodycanbecomparedinrespectoftheenergyexpended。If，then，wetakethemoraljudgmenttobesimplyajudgmentofamountsofhappiness，thewholetheorycanbesystematised，anditsvarioustheoremsrangedunderasingleaxiomorconsistentsetofaxioms。Painandpleasuregivetherealvalueofactions；theyarethecurrencywithadefinitestandardintowhicheverygeneralrulemaybetranslated。Thereisalwaysacommonmeasureapplicableineveryformulafortheestimationofconduct。IfyouadmityourMoralSense，youprofesstosettlevaluesbysomestandardwhichhasnodefiniterelationtothestandardwhichinfactgovernsthenormaltransactions。Butanysuchdoublestandard，inwhichthetwomeasuresareabsolutelyincommensurable，leadsstraighttochaos。Or，ifagainyouappealtoreasonintheabstract，youareattemptingtosettleanaccountbypurearithmeticwithoutreferencetotheunitsuponwhichyouroperationisperformed。Twopoundsandtwopoundswillmakefourpoundswhateverapoundmaybe；buttillIknowwhatitis，theresultisnugatory。SomewhereImustcomeuponabasisoffact，ifmywholeconstructionistostand。
　　ThisisthefundamentalpositionimpliedinBentham’sdoctrine。Themoraljudgmentissimplyonecaseofthejudgmentofhappiness。Benthamissomuchconvincedofthisthattohimthereappearedtobeinrealitynoothertheory。
　　Whatpassedfortheoriesweremerecombinationsofwords。Havingsaidthis，weknowwheretolaythefoundationsofthenewscience。Itdealswithavastcomplicityoffacts：itrequires’investigationsassevereasmathematicalones，butbeyondallcomparisonmoreintricateandextensive。’11*Stillitdealswithfacts，andwithfactswhichhaveacommonmeasure，andcan，therefore，bepresentedasacoherentsystem。Topresentthissystem，orsomuchofitasisrequiredforpurposesoflegislation，isthereforehisnexttask。ThepartialexecutionisthechiefsubstanceoftheIntroduction。
　　Rightandwrongconduct，wemaynowtakeforgranted，meansimplythoseclassesofconductwhichareconducivetooropposedtohappiness；or，inthesacredformula，toactrightlymeanstopromotethegreatesthappinessofthegreatestnumber。Thelegislator，likeeveryoneelse，actsrightlyinsofarisheisguidedbytheprincipletouseoneofthephrasesjoinedbyBentham
　　of’maximising’happiness。Heseekstoaffectconduct；andconductcanbeaffectedonlybyannexingpainsorpleasurestogivenclassesofactions。
　　Hencewehaveavitallyimportantpartofhisdoctrine——thetheoryof’sanctions。’
　　Painsandpleasuresasannexedtoactionarecalled’sanctions。’Thereare’physicalornatural，’’political，’’moralorpopular，’and’religious’sanctions。
　　The’physical’sanctionsaresuchpleasuresandpainsasfollowagivencourseofconductindependentlyoftheinterferenceofanyotherhumanorsupernaturalbeing；the’political’thosewhichareannexedbytheactionofthelegislator。
　　The’moralorpopular’thosewhichareannexedbyotherindividualsnotactinginacorporatecapacity；andthe’religious’thosewhichareannexedbya’superiorinvisiblebeing，’or，ashesayselsewhere，12*’suchasarecapableofbeingexpectedatthelandsofaninvisibleRuleroftheUniverse。’thethreelastsanctions，heremarks，’operatethroughthefirst。’The’magistrate’
　　or’menatlarge’canonlyoperate，andGodissupposedonlytooperate，’throughthepowersofnature，’thatis，byapplyingsomeofthepainsandpleasureswhichmayalsobenaturalsanctions。Amanisburnt：ifbyhisownimprudence，thatisa’physical’sanction；ifbythemagistrate，itisa’political’sanction；ifbysomeneglectofhisneighbours，duetotheirdislikeofhis’moralcharacter，’a’moral’sanction；ifbytheimmediateactofGodorbydistractioncausedbydreadofGod’sdispleasure，itisa’religious’sanction。Ofthese，asBenthamcharacteristicallyobserves13*
　　inlaterwritingthepoliticalismuchstrongerthanthe’moral’or’religious。’
　　Manymenfearthelossofcharacterorthe’wrathofHeaven，’butallmenfearthescourgeandthegallows。14*Headmits，however，thatthereligioussanctionandtheadditionalsanctionof’benevolence’havetheadvantageofnotrequiringthattheoffendershouldbefoundout。15*Butinanycase，the’natural’andreligioussanctionsarebeyondthelegislator’spower。
　　Hisproblem，therefore，issimplythis：whatsanctionsoughthetoannextoconduct，orrememberingthat’ought’meanssimply’conducivetohappiness，’
　　whatpoliticalsanctionswillincreasehappiness?
　　Toanswerthisfullywillbetogiveacompletesystemoflegislation；