---
title: "Bentham's Greatest Happiness Principle — Definition"
description: "Bentham's Greatest Happiness Principle evaluates actions by their ability to maximize pleasure and minimize pain, crucial for UPSC GS4 ethics."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/bentham-greatest-happiness-principle"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- Bentham's Greatest Happiness Principle holds that an action is right insofar as it maximizes aggregate pleasure and minimizes pain across all affected persons.
- What is the felicific calculus and how does it relate to the Greatest Happiness Principle?
- How does Bentham's principle differ from John Stuart Mill's utilitarianism?
- What is the strongest objection to the Greatest Happiness Principle?
- Why is the Greatest Happiness Principle relevant to public policy today?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

Bentham's Greatest Happiness Principle holds that an action is right insofar as it maximizes aggregate pleasure and minimizes pain across all affected persons.

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In its 1834 New Poor Law reforms, the British government, advised by Benthamite Edwin Chadwick, applied the Greatest Happiness Principle to redesign relief on aggregate-welfare and deterrence grounds.

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