Utilitarianism

Mill's Utilitarianism (1863) is the classic short defense of utilitarian ethics, introducing qualitative distinctions between pleasures and grounding morality in the principle of utility.

Mill argues that the greatest happiness principle is the foundation of morals, that qualitative differences among pleasures matter (higher vs. lower), that justice is the strongest form of utility, and that utilitarianism accommodates rights through the concept of security.