ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that part of Jeremy Bentham's hostility to state of nature theories might be explained by the fact that without security of expectation certain types of activity and goal would be impossible. It argues that expectation is necessary if individuals are to choose and pursue their own ends. The chapter considers some of the arguments that has been advanced against the view that Bentham valued freedom within his moral theory. It suggests that Bentham's position is best interpreted as embodying the rejection of a presumptive defence of liberty in favour of a utilitarian justification of the value of liberty. The chapter shows that despite Jeremy Bentham's abandonment of the language of liberty it is still possible for him to maintain the same substantively liberal commitment to the value of freedom within a utilitarian theory. It argues that Bentham's commitment to security of expectation is partly co-extensive with a commitment to liberty.
