Jonathan Haidt, Steven Pinker, and the Utilitarian Road to Nowhere

“American social psychologist Jonathan Haidt in his book The Righteous Mind has determined six fundamental human values: fairness, liberty, hierarchy, care, loyalty, and sanctity. But utilitarian thinkers have reduced people’s values to just care and equality.”

One of the few things on which (almost) everyone can agree—in today’s increasingly polarized political environment—is that our primary objective should be to increase the overall well-being of society. It does not matter which side of the political spectrum one represents, but the majority nevertheless believes that the enhancement of human flourishing should guide our political and economic decisions: a philosophical approach called utilitarianism.

Utilitarianism is the main representative of consequentialist moral theories, which advocate actions that promote the overall happiness of society. The proponents of utilitarianism argue that “the greatest happiness of the greatest number” is of paramount importance, in other words.

This utilitarian philosophy, despite its appeal, however, is fallacious. Blind adherence to utilitarianism does not only force us to focus on the wrong aspects of reality and human nature; what is worse, in some cases, it goes against the natural forces that shape humankind.

A Flawed Theory

Many politicians, especially on the Left, promote social democratic policies aiming to increase overall well-being. Utilitarianism is the justification for costly government-sponsored social programs, such as unemployment benefits, universal healthcare, etc.