Acting on Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism has important implications for how we should think about leading an ethical life. Because utilitarianism weighs the wellbeing of everyone equally, it implies that we should make helping others a very significant part of our lives.

There are many pressing problems in the world today. Unfortunately, because our resources are scarce, we cannot solve all the world’s problems at once. Not all ways of helping others are equally effective. According to utilitarianism we should carefully choose which problems to work on and by what means, based on how we can most improve the lives of everyone, counted equally. This involves taking seriously the question of how we can best use our time and money to help others.

A few moral problems appear especially pressing by utilitarian lights, such as fighting extreme poverty, reducing the suffering of animals on factory farms and, in particular, ensuring that the long-term future goes as well as possible. People who will exist in the future greatly outnumber those who are alive today, and we may be able to take actions that affect their wellbeing. Therefore, one key concern for utilitarians is to promote the wellbeing of not only the current generation but of all generations to come.

Addressing these problems may involve donating generously to effective charities, choosing your career based on how to most help others, and encouraging other people to do the same.