![]() In fact, the two processes – the accumulation of men and the accumulation of capital – cannot be separated it would not have been possible to solve the problem of the accumulation of men without the growth of an apparatus of production capable of both sustaining them and using them conversely, the techniques that made the cumulative multiplicity of men useful accelerated the accumulation of capital. If the economic take-off of the West began with the techniques that made possible the accumulation of capital, it might perhaps be said that the methods for administering the accumulation of men made possible a political take-off in relation to the traditional, ritual, costly, violent forms of power, which soon fell into disuse and were superseded by a subtle, calculated technology of subjection. ![]() As Foucault notes, the type of thinking that Bentham and other contemporaries espoused was only possible given a certain combination of elements, including technology, knowledge and a shift away from medieval power relations: He was also an atheist.Īll of this informs and shapes the background in which Bentham resided in. He advocated for legal reforms such as the codification of common law and was an early advocate of animals’ rights. In fact, we already see the deepening of the circuits of capital to the point where Bentham himself wrote a treatise on interest-bearing capital under the title of In Defense of Usury in the form of letters.īentham was also a reformer of the type with Robert Owen, Helvétius and Ben Franklin. #Hedonic calculus example fullOn a more practical level, the Industrial Revolution was in full swing in his home of London. In terms of thought, this time was marked by the effects of the Scottish Enlightenment on social thought at large, with thinkers like Ferguson, Smith, Hume and others leaving their mark during this era. Bentham's Timeīentham was born in 1748 and died in 1832. However, as we will point out later, Mitchell presents a reasonable argument as to why Bentham’s system could interpreted to be deeply flawed. Marx, too, referred to bentham as ”a genius within a sea of bourgeois stupidity". Mill believed that “it will be found that those who have accustomed the public mind to these ideas have learnt them in Bentham’s school, and that the assault on the ancient institutions has been, and is, carried on for the most part with his weapons. As Mitchell notes, Bentham is a polarizing figure, according with the assumptions and concerns of the individual making the assessment. The question might be raised what a “reasonable” assessment of Bentham’s works might resemble. We will then move on to a more detailed analysis of Bentham’s methodology, before briefly scrutinizing his ontology and then conclude with a multi-layered critique that draws heavily from two writers, Wesley Mitchell and Michel Foucault. We will first attempt to contextualize Bentham, placing him in a historical time and space that authentically represents his ideas within the larger discourse on ideas in general. We are going to assess these in the following. If nothing else, his ideas have deeply influenced and contributed to the shape of modern social science in numerous ways. ![]() This means an assessment of the significance and implication of Bentham’s thought on the social sciences is especially of note. Thus, one can say the shadow of Bentham extends long over the corps of social sciences. In fact, if one looks from the median voter theorem to the Lucas critique, from basic microeconomics to the most complex theory for estimating housing allocation, a basic Utilitarian framework can be taken for granted in such models. Indeed, it is hard to find a well-accepted, mainstream economic model today that does not employ some form of utility function, which is a concept deeply influenced by Bentham in his Principles of Morals and Legislation and other works. His attempt to become “the Newton of morals” has left a marked impression upon the methodology and form of analysis that social sciences like economics and political science have chosen as modus operandi. In the history of the social sciences, few individuals have exerted as much influence as has Jeremy Bentham. Source image: Bentham’s Two Sovereign Masters Examining Bentham’s Influence on the Social Sciences ![]()
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