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This book is the first full-length description of, and commentary on, Jeremy Bentham's unique utilitarian theory of justice. The book is unusual for defending Bentham's views on the subject, rescuing him from the caricatures which have persisted since the eighteenth century. The author makes use of neglected and unpublished writings, thus contributing to the literature on Bentham's thought. In the process, he also develops a detailed utilitarian theory of justice
which offers much to contemporary political philosophy.
About the author
Paul Kelly studied political philosophy at the University of York and from 1987-1989 was Bradley Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School
Summary
In this book Dr Kelly presents the first full-length exposition and sympathetic defence of Jeremy Bentham's unique utilitarian theory of justice. He rescues Bentham's reputation from crude nineteenth- and twentieth-century caricatures, and develops a sophisticated and subtle interpretation of Bentham's moral theory which places him at the heart of the British Liberal tradition.
Drawing heavily on Bentham's unpublished civil and distributive law writings, classic and recent Bentham scholarship, and contemporary work in moral and political philosophy, Dr Kelly shows how Bentham developed a moderate welfare-state liberal theory of justice with egalitarian leanings, the aim of which was to secure the material and political conditions of each citizen's pursuit of his own conception of the good life in co-operation with others.
This strikingly original interpretation makes a valuable contribution to the growing literature on Bentham's legal and political thought, and develops a utilitarian theory of justice which offers much to contemporary political philosophy.
Additional text
Kelly's book has established an important set of issues for Bentham scholarship as well as for utilitarian theory.
