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Consequentialism

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Encyclopedia of Law and Economics

Definition

Consequentialism can be defined as an instrumentalist approach to ethics that consists in evaluating a given system through its resulting effects (Pettit 2003; Anscombe 2005; Blackburn 2008), i.e., through the maximization of gains and the minimization of losses it enables (Baggini and Fosl 2007).

Several forms of consequentialism can be identified (Baggini and Fosl 2007; Thiroux and Krasemann 2012), including the different types of utilitarianism. The different forms of consequentialism can be compared in function of (i) the set of principles adopted to define both positive and negative consequences, which raises the issue of the interpersonal comparison of utility (Gowdy 2004; Suzumura 1999) and (ii) the choice of the agents, in a given system, that should benefit from positive consequences.

Although this approach initially formed the basis of welfare economics (Hicks 1939; Kaldor 1939), the issue of consequentialism has recently attracted wider attention, with a growing...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Métis Lab, EM Normandie Business School, Paris, France

    David Moroz

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  1. David Moroz
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Correspondence to David Moroz .

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  1. Montpellier, France

    Alain Marciano

  2. Dept DiGSPES, Univ del Piemonte Orientale Dept DiGSPES, Alessandria, Italy

    Giovanni Battista Ramello

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Moroz, D. (2021). Consequentialism. In: Marciano, A., Ramello, G.B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Law and Economics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_120-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_120-2

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  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-7883-6

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Consequentialism
    Published:
    23 March 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_120-2

  2. Original

    Consequentalism
    Published:
    20 October 2014

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_120-1

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