Michael Woods
09/16/2014
Boylan reflection
BUS290A
I never really gave it much thought but I am a utilitarian! I’m not a true utilitarian but if used reasonably it has its uses. The good of the many out ways the sacrifice of the few. I don’t know if that’s because I’m an American, or that I’m a white male who has had some privilege in my life. From that point of view though, it does and has infringed on the rights of the minority. But it is not only the minority that suffers but the voice of the marginalized has repeatedly been shot down. So just how this effect happens when the good of the many is supposed to out way the injustice done to the few. Especially when you’re talking about grave injustice like slavery or Jim Crow laws which are supposed to be doing good for the many while a few are being crushed, these types of situations are not positive outcomes of a utilitarian society. There are many cases of injustice where a prosecuting attorney comes across a case that can make or break them in an election year, and a push by the public to quickly close it can create a lot of pressure. All too often when this type of injustice is done a person of non-Caucasian heritage is the group that finds themselves on the wrong end of the gavel. Once again in these cases, only temporally does it create more good than bad. So with that in mind I would like to discuss the main idea behind utilitarianism, is that one should always act in a way that ensures the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people. If we have a society where we only act upon the greatest good for the greatest amount, then we could have a society where the minority is exploited. If exploitation of the 2% is beneficial to the 98%, then wouldn’t it be fine to oppress that minority? It is causing the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people. The above is the worst of the ideology where slavery, Jim Crow laws or beating your children like in the Adrien Peterson case where people think because an ethnicity thinks it ok, then it must be ok. Sometimes in war or sports this ideology works perfectly. The sacrifice of the war hero who gives his/her life so the platoon may survive a grenade blast, or the veteran player who gives up his role so the younger, better player can help the team more. Also A society built on
