A Utilitarian View
Utilitarianism is a theory that was proposed by John Stuart Mill. This theory is based on the Greatest Happiness Principle, which states that the rightness of actions is based upon the amount of happiness they promote. (Mill 1) The more happiness an action produces, the better it is, and the less happiness an action produces, the worse it is. According to the principle of utilitarianism, the use of sweatshops would be seen as a negative thing.
As stated before, utilitarianism is based on how much happiness an action promotes. In making decisions, a person wants to pick the option that will promote the most amount of happiness with the least amount of pain and consequences. (Mill 1) This principle, therefore, relies heavily on quantities, as it is based on amounts of pleasure and pain. However quality also plays a role as “some kinds of pleasure are more desirable and more valuable than others.” (Mill 2) It is also true that people who have more require more to promote happiness, and people who have less require less. (Mill 3)
The Greatest Happiness Principle weighs how right an action is based on how great the consequences of an action are in comparison to how great the pleasure is that results. In the instance of sweatshops, the pain outweighs the pleasure. From the perspective of a businessman in a corporation using sweatshops, there is a lot of pleasure resulting from this. They are gaining a greater profit for a cheaper cost than if higher paid labor was used. Money for them is a source of happiness.
However, in this situation, the workers themselves must endure a lot of suffering. They earn little pay for long hours in poor working conditions. The pay they earn is not sufficient enough to support their families on a wage that still keeps their human dignities intact. Since the immense suffering of all of the sweatshop workers is greater than the little bit of profit businessmen gain from using them, sweatshops do not follow the Greatest Principle of Happiness. Therefore, utilitarians would most likely agree that the use of sweatshops is wrong, since the amount of pain makes the pleasure gained not worth it.
As stated before, utilitarianism is based on how much happiness an action promotes. In making decisions, a person wants to pick the option that will promote the most amount of happiness with the least amount of pain and consequences. (Mill 1) This principle, therefore, relies heavily on quantities, as it is based on amounts of pleasure and pain. However quality also plays a role as “some kinds of pleasure are more desirable and more valuable than others.” (Mill 2) It is also true that people who have more require more to promote happiness, and people who have less require less. (Mill 3)
The Greatest Happiness Principle weighs how right an action is based on how great the consequences of an action are in comparison to how great the pleasure is that results. In the instance of sweatshops, the pain outweighs the pleasure. From the perspective of a businessman in a corporation using sweatshops, there is a lot of pleasure resulting from this. They are gaining a greater profit for a cheaper cost than if higher paid labor was used. Money for them is a source of happiness.
However, in this situation, the workers themselves must endure a lot of suffering. They earn little pay for long hours in poor working conditions. The pay they earn is not sufficient enough to support their families on a wage that still keeps their human dignities intact. Since the immense suffering of all of the sweatshop workers is greater than the little bit of profit businessmen gain from using them, sweatshops do not follow the Greatest Principle of Happiness. Therefore, utilitarians would most likely agree that the use of sweatshops is wrong, since the amount of pain makes the pleasure gained not worth it.
