Utilitarianism is a political theory attributed to Jeremy Bentham which says that the best action is that which maximizes utility, or produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. (Miller, D. (2013). Utilitarianism. Theory in Social and Cultural Anthropology : An Encyclopedia, 886-888.)
Utilitarian theory suggests in order to reach an ethical decision, we must make the choice that benefits the most people. This is a principal often applied in community development work- for instance, a local government may utilize rights of eminent domain and evict a few people from their homes in order to create infrastructure whose benefit to the community as a whole is seen to outweigh the cost or harm to that smaller group of homeowners.
Utilitarian principals are also often present in national and international politics. For instance, the U.S. has a stated policy of not "bargaining" with hostage takers; while paying a ransom for kidnapped individuals may save their lives, the theory suggests that greater harm will ultimately result from the increased incentive to kidnap future hostages.
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