Less Utilitarian Than Thou - by Scott Alexander
I sometimes identify (and get identified by others) as utilitarian or consequentialist. It’s a fair descriptor. I think about morality in terms of how to decrease suffering / fulfill preferences / other stuff which is surprisingly hard to specify.
Sometimes utilitarianism is conceptualized as “being willing to do bad things for the greater good”, so it always surprises me how much less willing I am to do this than most people. Here are some things that many non-utilitarians believe are okay, but which I’m against or at least skeptical of 1 :
Banning “misinformation” or “hateful speech”. This violates the usual moral rule of free speech, to serve the supposed greater good of preventing the spread of bad ideas.
Forcibly separating children from their families and confining them in a space they’re not allowed to leave (ie mandatory public schooling). This violates the usual moral rules against separating families and imprisoning innocent people, to serve the supposed greater good of enculturating or educating the kids.
Spinning a narrative that plays fast and loose with the truth, in order to avoid “panic” or empowering “the wrong people” - for example, trying to play down concerns about COVID because that might incite mobs to attack Chinese people. This violates the usual moral rule against deception, to serve the supposed greater good of preventing the panic.
