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How did utilitarianism influence ideas about democracy and individual liberty?

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Jeremy Bentham: auto-icon — Utilitarianism English philosopher and economist Jeremy Bentham's preserved skeleton in his own clothes and surmounted by a wax head, at University College London.

Utilitarianism significantly shaped modern democratic thought and individual liberty by shifting the justification for government from abstract concepts like natural rights to the pragmatic goal of promoting the "greatest happiness of the greatest number".123

Influence on Democracy

Utilitarians generally championed representative democracy as the most effective mechanism to ensure that government interests align with the general welfare. By advocating for suffrage, periodic elections, and government accountability, they sought to create a system where the state serves the governed. While early utilitarians like James Mill viewed a literate electorate as the key to good governance, later thinkers like John Stuart Mill emphasized the necessity of protecting intellectual diversity and individual expression within democratic structures to prevent the "tyranny" of public opinion.1243

Influence on Individual Liberty

Utilitarianism provided a unique defense of liberty based on utility rather than natural law. John Stuart Mill’s influential work, On Liberty, argued that the state may only restrict an individual's freedom to prevent harm to others. This principle became a cornerstone of democratic liberty, protecting freedom of speech, assembly, and religion by asserting that individuals are the best judges of their own welfare.124