Utilitarianism Utilitarianism argues that the consequences of an action make that action moral or immoral. An action that leads to beneficial consequences is right or moral; one that leads to harmful consequences is wrong or immoral. Utilitarianism is known as a consequentialist theory. What consequences count? Utilitarianism holds that an action is morally justified to the extent that it maximizes benefits and minimizes harms or costs. Thus, the one moral thing to do in any situation is that action that can be reasonably seen to provide the greatest net benefit, when the expected costs are subtracted from the expected benefits. To do something else is to behave unethically. The more an action maximizes net costs or net harm, the more immoral it becomes. Thus, utilitarianism calls for the greatest good for the greatest number of people. But what is the "good" that we are trying to maximize? Utilitarians usually state that the greatest good means the greatest h
