The former Bush administration economist N. Gregory Mankiw is well known for his love of rich people and his outspokenness on economic matters. But in his semi-regular New York Times column on Sunday, Mankiw veers slightly out of his comfort zone. Apparently feeling that good objections to Obamacare and a higher minimum wage come from philosophy as well as economics, he has attempted, unsuccessfully, to write a piece that combines both.

Mankiw begins by noting that economists are also "political philosophers" whose judgements concern what they deem to be a "good society." Fair enough. What becomes difficult, he explains, is evaluating policies that reward some and hurt others. While Obamacare has allowed various people to get health insurance, he writes, it has also led to other Americans to lose their plans. How to find the right balance? According to Mankiw, one school of thought argues in favor of a "'social welfare function' that aggregates individuals' well-being into a summary measure."

Mankiw identifies this approach with the philosophy of utilitarianism, which he clearly dislikes. As proof of utilitarianism's flaws, he offers up this familiar scenario:

You are a doctor with four dying patients. One needs a new liver, one needs a new heart, and two need a new kidney. A perfectly healthy patient walks into your office for his annual checkup. Are you still willing to pursue the utilitarian course of action? At this point, almost everyone balks. Sometimes, respecting natural rights trumps maximizing utility.

If Mankiw would ask even a (high school) freshman philosophy student about this question, he might receive the obvious answer: the scenario is essentially impossible, and if doctors started killing some patients to save others it would quite obviously lead to a society that was not better by any calculation, including a utilitarian one. (Just try to imagine it.)

But Mankiw wants utilitarianism to appear silly, since he sees it as underpinning policies such as Obamacare and a higher minimum wage. But like many critiques of utilitarianism, this one starts to seem...oddly utilitarian.