ABSTRACT
The basic themes of JS Mill’s seminal essay, On Liberty (1859), are set
out below for purposes of revision of syllabus requirements concerning
the place of Utilitarianism in jurisprudential thought. The essence of
Utilitarianism (see [1993] SLRYB 132) is derived from the thesis of
Bentham (1748-1832): ‘That which is conformable to the utility or the
interests of a community is what tends to augment the total sum of the
happiness of the individuals that compose it.’ (Utility is ‘the property or
tendency of a thing to prevent some evil or to procure some good.’)
Mill sought to link utility to the concept of justice; he visualised the law
in terms of its potential for bringing members of society nearer to ‘the
best thing they can be’.
