Number and Government
Number and Government
This chapter examines Bentham's argument, and presents a qualified defence of it against objections about number and about egalitarian distribution. Bentham held that the principal aim of government was to guard against pains, and especially those inflicted by people upon other people. The chapter focuses on a particular calculus of pains, namely that elaborated in Bentham's copious writings on crime and its reduction. Bentham wrote extensively on the crime problem, and integrally to his most important treatises. His thinking in numbers about crime may be viewed as a testing ground for the merits of practical calculus, as well as for examination of his egalitarian credentials.
Keywords: Bentham, thinking in numbers, egalitarian distribution, crime
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