Jeremy Bentham (Will Campbell)

Hello, I am Jeremy Bentham. I am an economist and philosopher. During the Industrial Revolution in Europe, I strongly advocated utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is the idea that society's goal should be to provide the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. So basically, I believe that laws should be judged on their "utility," or how many people it pleases and how much more happiness it provides than pain. It is because of these ideals that I hold dear that I believe that Europe's Industrial Revolution did not have a positive impact on all of the citizens of Europe. Many of the citizens of Europe were those that were farmers and workers; those people that worked the day away in the factories to make their money. Those that were farmers became workers because the government felt it was alright if they just stripped farmers of their land in order to force them into their factories and big cities. I highly doubt that law pleased the farmers very much, meaning it did not align with utilitarianism or my personal ideals and beliefs. Also, those farmers, now workers, were forced to work in very harsh and even dangerous conditions; conditions that threatened many workers' lives. I hoped to change society; to create one where the workers were actually put into consideration during a time in which they were so vital, where they could have an influence on what their work hours and conditions were like. I hoped to change the Industrial Revolution, because it certainly did not have a positive impact on the citizens of Europe.