How Can Goals of Utilitarianism and Libertarianism be Combined?

How can the Goals of Utilitarianism and Libertarianism be combined?
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Introduction
Utilitarianism and libertarianism are two moral theories that have been advanced to promote the welfare of humanity in their unique ways. Often, the ideas advocated by utilitarian and libertarians are contrary to each other and as such, the two theories are seen as opposing theories. On one hand, utilitarian advocates for individual well-being and greater, overall benefits, which is judged based on the consequences of an action. As such, utilitarian believes that the best action is the action that maximizes the benefits for the greatest number of people. On the other hand, libertarians advocate for individual rights and ownership. To libertarians, no one should violate a person’s rights, including the government, even if it brings the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people. This is mostly where utilitarian and libertarians’ views differ greatly. In particular, the concept of justice and fairness of actions differ when the two theories are being considered. In utilitarianism, justice is about the end results, regardless of what was done to get the results and as such, the end is said to justify the means. For libertarians, justice is about the moral rights of ownership and individual rights. How the results were achieved matters more than the end result, hence the much focus on ownership. However, these two theories do not have to be mutually exclusive. This paper explores and explains how the goals of the two theories can be combined to promote good and improve society.[Hilary Greaves, "A reconsideration of the Harsany-Sen-Weymark debate on utilitarianism." Utilitas 29, no. 2 (2016): 176.] [Chandran Kukathas, "Libertarianism without self-ownership." Social Philosophy and Policy36, no. 2 (2019): 71.] [Ibid., 76]
Goals of Utilitarianism
Utilitarian goals are based on three basic principles. The first is the principle of hedonism action. This principle merely posits that the pursuit of pleasure and happiness is the most important value for the well-being of individuals. Thus, the goal of utilitarianism is to ensure that individuals live in a world that is full of happiness and pleasure. This should be achieved using any means because the results justify the actions taken. Based on the hedonism principle, utilitarian believes that a world full of happiness is better than a world without. Hence, we should all focus on making decisions that increase happiness and pleasure. This brings us to the second principle, which is the aggregate maximization of utility. This principle is based on the premise that happiness is a good thing and if it is a good thing, then it is a good thing to the aggregate of every individual. Therefore, the overall goodness of an action is important to the well-being of individuals and society at large. Based on this principle, it suffices to say that the goal of utilitarianism is to ensure that overall goodness and happiness is achieved. The third principle is referred to as the maximizing consequentialism principle. It is based on the premise that all actions have consequences and that people should choose the action that produces the most happiness, for the greatest number of people. Based on this principle, it can be deduced that the utilitarian goal is to make decisions based on the actions that produce the most happiness or goodness. According to Wolf, utilitarianism aims to influence the greatest number of people to produce more positive results by pursuing actions that produce happiness. As such, the most moral action is the one that produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Achieving such a goal is more important than determining how the goal was achieved, and who was hurt or oppressed in the process.[Greaves, "A reconsideration of the Harsany-Sen-Weymark debate on utilitarianism," 176.] [Ibid., 176.] [Ibid., 176.] [Susan Wolf, The Variety of Values: Essays on Morality, Meaning, and Love. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2015), 19.]
Goals of Libertarianism
Libertarianism goals are based on the concept of individual rights. One of the principles of libertarianism is the principle of self-ownership. This principle posits that individuals have rights and these rights should be protected, especially from interference by the state. This principle also supports the idea of people owning themselves such that they have control over themselves, as well as over their properties. Based on this principle, libertarians seek the protection of individual freedom and private properties. The other principle of libertarianism is the principle of non-aggression. This principle posits that force or aggression should not be used on other people or their private properties. Thus, based on this principle, the goal of libertarians is to ensure that individuals are not coerced into doing anything they are against, even if it will promote the greater good in society. Libertarians aim at ensuring that redistributive social systems are not created through welfare states. In today’s society, individual freedom and ownership are important values because they allow people to do what they want with their bodies and with their properties, as long as they are not infringing the rights of others. However, it is worth noting that libertarianism also aims to achieve free markets and limited government involvement while still upholding the rule of law.[Kukathas, "Libertarianism without self-ownership," 71.] [Ibid., 71.] [Dan Moller, Governing Least: A New England Libertarianism. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2019), 28.]
Combining Utilitarianism and Libertarianism Goals
Based on the goals of each theory listed above, it is apparent that they have opposing views, although they both promote values that are necessary for the welfare of the human race. Thus, combining the goals of the two theories would also allow combining the values promoted by the two theories. To combine the goals of the two theories, we first need to consider the differences.
Differences between Utilitarianism and Libertarianism Goals
* Utilitarianism places more value on happiness and overall, aggregate well-being of society. Thus, the greater happiness of every person is highly considered in decision making. Libertarianism places more value on individual freedom and private ownership. Thus, as long as a person’s rights are not being infringed, any action or decision can be made.
* In Utilitarianism, on their own, rights are not important, but they are considered as a means to bring out the best results. This implies that such rights can be infringed if they do not produce happiness or even maxim...