More on Betham

[Ed Weick]

I've done a little more reading on Bentham, and found that he was not really an economist (whew!!).  Rather, he was what you would call a "moral philosopher" (is there such a thing as an "immoral philosopher"?).  As such he developed the concept that man seeks to maximize his pleasure and minimize his pain, and is not in the least altruistic - i.e., each individual thinks only of himself.  This idea became the bedrock of classical economics, which restated it as enlightened self-interest and maximizing the satisfaction of wants (utility) at the least possible cost.   Bentham was also the inventor of the "Panopticon", a type of prison where all prisoners would be observable by (unseen) guards at all times.  He tried to peddle this idea to Catherine the Great in Russia, but even she wouldn't buy it.  Some time ago, in an attempt to educate myself, I read the French philosopher Michel Foucault.  I recall that he compared the modern state to a panopticon.   Ed Ed Weick 577 Melbourne Ave. Ottawa, ON, K2A 1W7 Canada Phone (613) 728 4630 Fax     (613)  728 9382