Editing Distributive justice (section)

=== Utilitarianism ===
{{Main|Utilitarianism}}
In 1789, [[Jeremy Bentham]] published his book ''[[An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation]].'' Centred on individual utility and welfare, utilitarianism builds on the notion that any action which increases the overall welfare in society is good, and any action that decreases welfare is bad. By this notion, utilitarianism's focus lies with its outcomes and pays little attention to how these outcomes are shaped.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Knight|first=Carl|date=20 Feb 2014|title=Theories of Distributive Justice and Post-Apartheid South Africa|journal=Politikon|volume= 41, 2014 - Issue 1|pages=3–4|via=Taylor & Francis Online}}</ref> This idea of utilisation maximisation, while being a much broader philosophical consideration, also translates into a theory of justice.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mill|first=John Stuart|title=Utilitarianism|publisher=Toronto University Press|year=1969|pages=241–242}}</ref>

==== Conceptualising welfare ====
While the basic notion that utilitarianism builds on seems simple, one major dispute within the school of utilitarianism revolved around the conceptualisation and measurement of [[welfare spending|welfare]].<ref name=":4" /> With disputes over this fundamental aspect, utilitarianism is evidently a broad term embracing many different sub-theories under its umbrella, and while much of the theoretical framework transects across these conceptualisations, using the different conceptualisation have clear implications for how we understand the more practical side of utilitarianism in distributive justice.

Bentham originally conceptualised this according to the [[hedonistic calculus]], which also became the foundation for [[John Stuart Mill|John Stuart Mill's]] focus on intellectual pleasures as the most beneficial contribution to societal welfare.<ref name=":4" /> Another path has been painted by [[Aristotle]], based on an attempt to create a more universal list of conditions required for human prosperity.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.20318/fons.2016.2529 |title=The Meaning of Distributive Justice for Aristotle's Theory of Constitutions |year=2016 |last1=Knoll |first1=Manuel Andreas |journal=Πηγη/Fons |volume=1 |pages=57–97 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Opposite this, another path focuses on a subjective evaluation of happiness and satisfaction in human lives.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last=Sumner 1996 as referred to in|first=Carl Knight|date=20 Feb 2014|title=Theories of distributive justice and post-apartheid South Africa.|journal=Politikon|volume=41|issue=1|pages=23–38|doi=10.1080/02589346.2014.885669|s2cid=154627483|url=http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/92559/1/92559.pdf}}</ref>