Utility, the Benthams and Government, 1760-1832

Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-1-83765-287-7
Verlag: Boydell & Brewer Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 400 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Demonstrates that the Utilitarianism which underpinned many of the reforms of the British state during the Napoleonic Wars originated not from Jeremy Bentham alone, but also from his brother Samuel, Inspector General of Naval Works, step-brother Charles Abbot, Speaker of the House of Commons and Samuel's wife Mary Sophia.

Utilitarianism, "the greatest happiness of the greatest number", is usually associated primarily with Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), who wrote extensively on the subject and who put forward specific policy proposals such as law reform and prison design. However, as this book demonstrates, Jeremy Bentham worked in a family setting alongside other highly influential family members. Diminishing the influence of Jeremy the book shows how the work and interdependence of four family members together made significant contributions to the reform of the British state along Utilitarian lines. The key family members besides Jeremy were his brother Samuel (1757-1831), Inspector General of Naval Works, who brought about huge improvements in Britain's naval dockyards, their step-brother Charles Abbot (1757-1829), Speaker of the House of Commons, who did much to reform Britain's machinery of government, strengthening Treasury control of finance, and setting the highest ethical standards for public employees, and Samuel's wife Mary Sophia (1765-1858), a formidable intellect in her own right who educated the children and ran the Bentham household. Overall, the book reveals the root Utilitarian influences which underpinned many of the reforms of the British state which took place during the Napoleonic Wars, highlighting the immense influence of the wider Bentham family.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Morriss, Roger

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Theorie, Politische Philosophie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface
Introduction

1. Eighteenth Century Government
2. Jeremy Bentham's Jurisprudence

3. Samuel Bentham's Sensibilities

4. The Bentham Fraternity

5. Charles Abbot's Politics

6. The Prison Project

7. Accommodating the State

8. The Reform of Bureaucratic Culture

9. Vested Interests and Reactions

10. Exile and Uncertainty

11. Conspiracies of Influence
12. Mary Sophia's Strengths

13. The St Petersburgh Panopticon

14. Charles Abbot's Diplomacy

15. A Settlement of Accounts

16. Parliamentary Politics and Reform

17. Post-war Reconstruction

18. Nineteenth Century Benthamism
Bibliography

Über Autor(innen)

Morriss, Roger
ROGER MORRISS was a curator at the National Maritime Museum in London, 1979-1995, then taught at the University of Exeter and at the Greenwich Maritime Institute, 1997-2018. Between 2000 and 2013 he was General Editor of the Navy Records Society and has himself published ten books on naval history.