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The British philosopher John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) was a proponent of a moral principle
called “utilitarianism,” which proposed that people must always act so as to produce the
greatest happiness. Read the following excerpt from his book Utilitarianism (1861).

from Utilitarianism
John Stuart Mill
Changing the World
This firm foundation is that of the social feelings of mankind; the desire to be in unity with our
fellow creatures, which is already a powerful principle in human nature, and happily one of
those which tend to become stronger, even without express inculcation, from the influences of
advancing civilisation. The social state is at once so natural, so necessary, and so habitual to
man, that, except in some unusual circumstances or by an effort of voluntary abstraction, he
never conceives himself otherwise than as a member of a body; and this association is riveted
more and more, as mankind are further removed from the state of savage independence. […]
They are also familiar with the fact of co-operating with others, and proposing to
themselves a collective, not an individual interest as the aim (at least for the time being) of their
actions. So long as they are co-operating, their ends are identified with those of others; there is
at least a temporary feeling that the interests of others are their own interests. Not only does all
strengthening of social ties, and all healthy growth of society, give to each individual a stronger
personal interest in practically consulting the welfare of others; it also leads him to identify his
feelings more and more with their good, or at least with an even greater degree of practical
consideration for it. He comes, as though instinctively, to be conscious of himself as a being
who of course pays regard to others. The good of others becomes to him a thing naturally and
necessarily to be attended to, like any of the physical conditions of our existence.
How is Mill’s approach similar to or different from Alexander’s?

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catastrophic consequences as soon as 2040 if knew climate scientists were foretelling a future
global warming increases at its current rate. that they would have to live without any of the
Democratic politicians expressed alarm, yet privileges they now enjoy.
many continue to accept campaign Rawls was right: True morality becomes
contributions from the fossil fuel industry that is possible only when we step outside the box of our
responsible for such a large percentage of the perceived self-interest and care for others as
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world’s greenhouse gas emissions . much as we care for ourselves. But rather than
It’s nearly impossible to imagine that our imagining a scenario in which we’re entirely
elected officials would be so indifferent if they ignorant of what the future holds, perhaps we
ought to imagine that we, personally, will be born
1 Davenport, Coral. “Major Climate Report Describes a Strong Risk again into the world that we are creating today
of Crisis as Early as 2040.” The New York Times , October 7, 2018. through our collective and individual choices.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/07/climate/ipcc-climate-
report-2040.html?module=inline Who among us would fail to question
2 Griffin, Paul. “CDP Carbon Majors Report 2017.” CDP, July 2017. capitalism or to demand a political system
https://b8f65cb373b1b7b15feb-c70d8ead6ced550b4d987d7c03fcdd1d. free from corporate cash if we knew that we’d
ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/cms/reports/documents/000/002/327/
original/Carbon-Majors-Report-2017.pdf?1499691240 likely live our next life as a person of color, earning
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Copyright © Bedford/St. Martin’s. Uncorrected proofs have been used in this sample chapter.
Distributed by BFW Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.

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