Utilitarianism

John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism is a classic exposition and defense of utilitarianism in ethics. Mill's aim is to explain what utilitarianism is, to show why it is the best theory of ethics, and to defend it against a wide range of criticisms and misunderstandings.

Though heavily criticized both in Mill's lifetime and in the years since, Utilitarianism did a great deal to popularize utilitarian ethics and was the most influential philosophical articulation of a liberal humanistic morality that was produced in the 19th century.