Benthamwasclearlythevictimofacommondelusion。Ifasystemwillwork，theminutestdetailscanbeexhibited。Therefore，itisinferred，anexhibitionofminutedetailprovesthatitwillwork。Unfortunately，thephilosophersofLaputawouldhavehadnomoredifficultyinfillingupdetailsthanthelegislatorsofEnglandortheUnitedStates。WhenBenthamhadsettledinhis’RadicalReformBill’83*thatthe’voting-box’wastobeadoublecubeofcast-iron，withaslitinthelid，intowhichcardstwoinchesbyone，whiteononesideandblackontheother，couldbeinserted，hemusthavefeltthathehadgotveryneartoactualapplication：hecanpicturethewholeoperationandnobodycansaythattheschemeisimpracticableforwantofworkingplansofthemachinery。Therewill，doubtless，benodifficultyinsettlingtheshapeoftheboxes，whenwehaveonceagreedtohavetheballot。ButadiscussionofsuchremotedetailsofUtopiaisofincomparablylessrealinterestthanthediscussionintheRationaleofEvidenceofpoints，which，howeverminute，wereoccurringeveryday，andwhichwerereallyinurgentneedofthelightofcommon-sense。
Bentham’sgeneralprinciplesmaybeverysimplystated。Theyare，infact，suchasweresuggestedbyhisviewoflegalgrievances。Why，whenhehaddemonstratedthatcertainmeasureswouldcontributetothe’greatesthappinessofthegreatestnumber，’weretheynotatonceadopted?Becausetherulersdidnotdesirethegreatesthappinessofthegreatestnumber。This，inBentham’slanguage，istosaythattheyweregovernedbya’sinisterinterest。’Theirinterestwasthatoftheirclass，notthatofthenation；theyaimedatthegreatesthappinessofsome，notatthegreatesthappinessofall。Ageneralisationofthisremarkgivesusthefirstaxiomsofallgovernment。Therearetwoprimaryprinciples：the’self-preference’principle，invirtueofwhicheverymanalwaysdesireshisowngreatesthappiness；andthe’greatesthappiness’
principle，invirtueofwhich’therightandproperend’ofgovernmentisthe’greatesthappinessofthegreatestnumber。’84*The’actualend’ofeverygovernment，again，isthegreatesthappinessofthegovernors。Hencethewholeproblemistoproduceacoincidenceofthetwoends，bysecuringanidentityofinterestbetweengovernorsandgoverned。Tosecurethatwehaveonlytoidentifythetwoclassesortoputthegovernmentinthehandsofall。85*Inamonarchy，theruleraimsattheinterestofonehimself；
ina’limitedmonarchy’theaimisatthehappinessofthekingandthesmallprivilegedclass；inademocracy，theendistherightonethegreatesthappinessofthegreatestnumber。Thisisashortcuttoallconstitutionalquestions。
Probablyithasoccurredinsubstancetomostyouthfulmembersofdebatingsocieties。Bentham’sconfidenceinhislogicliftshimaboveanyappealtoexperience；andheoccasionallyremindsusoftheproofgiveninMartinChuzzlewitthatthequeenmustliveintheTowerofLondon。The’monarch，’asheobserves，86*
’isnaturallytheveryworst——themostmaleficentmemberofthewholecommunity。’
Whereveranaristocracydiffersfromthedemocracy，theirjudgmentwillbeerroneous。87*Thepeoplewillnaturallychoose’morallyaptagents，’andmenwhowishtobechosenwilldesiretrulytobecome’morallyapt，’fortheycanonlyrecommendthemselvesbyshowingtheirdesiretoservethegeneralinterest。88*’Allexperiencetestifiestothistheory，’thoughtheevidenceis’toobulky’tobegiven。Otherproofs，however，mayatonceberenderedsuperfluousbyappealingto’theuninterruptedandmostnotoriousexperienceoftheUnitedStates。’89*Tothathappycountryheoftenappealsindeed90*
asamodelgovernment。Init，thereisnocorruption，nouselessexpenditure，noneoftheevilsillustratedbyour’matchlessconstitution。’
Theconstitutiondeducedfromtheseprincipleshasatleastthemeritofsimplicity。Wearetohaveuniversalsuffrage，annualparliaments，andvotebyballot。Heinclinestogiveavotetowomen。91*Thereistobenoking，nohouseofpeers，noestablishedchurch。Membersofparliamentarenottobere-eligible，tillafteraninterval。Elaboraterulesprovidefortheirregularattendanceandexclusivedevotiontotheirmasters’business。
Theyaretobesimply’deputies，’not’representatives。’Theyelectaprimeministerwhoholdsofficeforfouryears。Officialsaretobeappointedbyacomplexplanofcompetitiveexamination；andtheyaretobeinvitedtosendintendersfordoingtheworkatdiminishedsalary。Whenonceinoffice，everycareistakenfortheircontinualinspectionbythepublicandtheverificationoftheiraccounts。Theyareneverforaninstanttoforgetthattheyareservants，notthemasters，ofthepublic。
Bentham，ofcourse，isespeciallyminuteandcarefulinregardtothejudicialorganisationasubjectuponwhichhewrotemuch，andmuchtothepurpose。Thefunctionsandfeesofadvocatesaretobenarrowlyrestricted，andadvocatestobeprovidedgratuitouslyforthepoor。Theyarenottobecomejudges：tomakeabarristerajudgeisassensibleasitwouldbetoselectaprocuressformistressofagirls’school。92*Judgesshouldbeeverywhereaccessible：alwaysonduty，toobusytohavetimeforcorruption，andalwaysunderpublicsupervision。Onecharacteristicdeviceishisquasi-jury。TheEnglishsystemofrequiringunanimitywasequivalenttoenforcingperjurybytorture。Itsutilityasameansofresistingtyrannywoulddisappearwhentyrannyhadbecomeimpossible。Butpublicopinionmightbeusefullyrepresentedbya’quasi-jury’ofthreeorfive，whoshouldnotpronounceaverdict，butwatchthejudge，interrogate，ifnecessary，andincaseofneeddemandarehearing。Judges，ofcourse，werenolongertomakelaw，buttoproposeamendmentsinthe’Pannomion’oruniversalcode，whennewcasesarose。
Hisleadingprinciplemaybedescribedinonewordas’responsibility，’
orexpressedinhisleadingrule，’MinimiseConfidence。’93*’Allgovernmentisinitselfonevastevil。’94*Itconsistsinapplyingeviltoexcludeworseevil。Even’torewardistopunish，’95*whenrewardisgivenbygovernment。
Thelessgovernment，then，thebetter；butasgovernorsareanecessaryevil，theymustbelimitedbyeverypossibledevicetothesolelegitimateaim，andwatchedateveryturnbytheall-seeingeyeofpublicopinion。Everyonemustadmitthatthisisanapplicationofasoundprinciple，andthatoneconditionofgoodgovernmentisthediffusionofuniversalresponsibility。
Itmustbeadmitted，too，thatBentham’stheoryrepresentsavigorousembodimentandunflinchingapplicationofdoctrineswhichsincehistimehavespreadandgainedmoregeneralauthority。Millsaysthatgrantingoneassumption，theConstitutionalCodeis’admirable。’96*Thatassumptionisthatitisforthegoodofmankindtobeundertheabsoluteauthorityofamajority。
Inotherwords，itwouldjustifywhatMillcallsthe’despotismofpublicopinion。’ToprotestagainstthatdespotismwasoneofthemainpurposesofMill’spoliticalwritings。Howwasitthatthedisciplecametobeinsuchdirectoppositiontohismaster?ThatquestioncannotbeansweredtillwehaveconsideredMill’sownposition。ButIhavenowfollowedBenthamfarenoughtoconsiderthemoregeneralcharacteristicsofhisdoctrine。
Ihavetried，inthefirstplace，toshowwhatwasthecourseofBentham’sowndevelopment；howhisobservationofcertainlegalabusesledhimtoattemptthefoundationofascienceofjurisprudence；howthedifficultyofobtainingahearingforhisargumentsledhimtodiscoverthepowerof’JudgeandCo。’；
howhefoundoutthatbehind’JudgeandCo。’wereGeorgeIIIandthebaseSidmouth，andthewholebandofobstructorsentrenchedwithinthe’matchlessconstitution’；andhowthushisattackupontheabusesofthepenallawledhimtoattackthewholepoliticalframeworkofthecountry。IhavealsotriedtoshowhowBentham’sdevelopmentcoincidedwiththatoftheEnglishreformersgenerally。Theytoobeganwithattackingspecificabuses。Theywerefor’reform，notrevolution。’Theconstitutionsatisfiedtheminthemain：theyboastedofthepalladiaoftheirliberties，’trialbyjury’andthe’HabeasCorpus’
Act，andheldFrenchmentobefrog-eatingslavesindangeroflettresdecachetandtheBastille。Englishpublicopinioninspiteofmanytrammelshadapotentinfluence。Theirfirstimpulse，therefore，wassimplytogetridofthetrammels——theabuseswhichhadgrownupfromwantofathoroughapplicationoftheancientprinciplesintheiroriginalpurity。TheEnglishWhig，evenofthemoreradicalpersuasion，wasprofoundlyconvincedthatthefoundationsweresound，howeverunsatisfactorymightbethesuperstructure。
Thus，bothBenthamandthereformersgenerallystarted——notfromabstractprinciples，butfromtheassaultuponparticularabuses。ThisisthecharacteristicofthewholeEnglishmovement，andgivesthemeaningoftheirclaimtobe’practical。’TheUtilitarianswerethereformersontheoldlines；andtheirphilosophymeantsimplyadesiretosystematisetheordinarycommon-sensearguments。Thephilosophycongenialtothisveinisthephilosophywhichappealstoexperience。Lockehadexploded’innateideas。’Theydenounced’intuitions，’orbeliefswhichmightoverrideexperienceas’innateideas’
inanewdress；andtheattempttocarryoutthisviewsystematicallybecamethedistinctivemarkofthewholeschool。Benthamaccepted，thoughhedidlittletoelaborate，thisdoctrine。Thattaskremainedforhisdisciples。
ButthetendencyisshownbyhisviewofarivalversionofRadicalism。
Bentham，aswehaveseen，regardedtheAmericanDeclarationofindependenceassomuch’jargon。’Hewasentirelyopposedtothetheoryofthe’rightsofman，’andthereforetothe’ideasof1789。’Fromthattheorytherevolutionarypartyprofessedtodeducetheirdemandsforuniversalsuffrage，thelevellingofallprivileges，andtheabsolutesupremacyofthepeople。YetBentham，repudiatingthepremises，cametoaccepttheconclusion。HisConstitutionalCodescarcelydiffersfromtheidealoftheJacobins’，exceptinpushingthelogicfurther。Themachinerybywhichheproposedtosecurethattheso-calledrulersshouldbecomereallytheservantsofthepeoplewasmorethoroughgoingandminutelyworkedoutthanthatofanydemocraticconstitutionthathaseverbeenadopted。Howwasitthattwoantagonisttheoriesledtoidenticalresults；andthatthe’rightsofman，’absurdinphilosophy，representedtheidealstateofthingsinpractice?
Thegeneralanswermaybethatpoliticaltheoriesarenotreallybaseduponphilosophy。Theactualmethodistotakeyourpoliticsforgrantedontheonesideandyourphilosophyforgrantedontheother，andthentoprovetheirnecessaryconnection。Butitis，atanyrate，importanttoseewhatwasthenatureofthephilosophicalassumptionsimplicitlytakenforgrantedbyBentham。
The’rightsofman’doctrineconfoundsaprimarylogicalcanOnwithastatementoffact。Everypoliticaltheorymustbebaseduponfactsaswellasuponlogic。Anyreasonabletheoryaboutpoliticsmustnodoubtgiveareasonforinequalityandareason，too，forequality。Themaximthatallmenwere，oroughttobe，’equal’assertscorrectlythattheremustnotbearbitrarydifferences。Everyinequalityshouldhaveitsjustificationinareasonablesystem。Butwhenthisundeniablelogicalcanonistakentoprovethatmenactuallyareequal，thereisanobviousbeggingofthequestion。
Inpointoffact，thetheoristsimmediatelyproceededtodisfranchisehalftheraceonaccountofsex，andathirdoftheremainderonaccountofinfancy。