ABSTRACT
Classical type of utilitarianism is a curious mixture of psychological pessimism and social optimism. There are many other instances in which simple hedonistic utilitarianism states that it is one’s duty to victimize one person in order to produce minor benefits to others. This chapter explains about the application of liberal utilitarianism to some of these real-life legal, moral and socio-political issues. The advantage of utilitarianism in the comparison is its basic commitment to equality, which is generally the weak point in deontological liberal theories such as J. Rawls’s and R. Nozick’s. The chapter shows the simple multiplication of people’s pleasures can easily lead to the victimization of minorities in the name of the greatest good. The revision of classical utilitarianism can be set off by presenting some axiological responses to the problem of victimization. The liberal utilitarian theory must be based on needs which are capable of being perceived and possessed with due awareness by the beings that have them.
