I’ve been reading John Locke and Jeremy Bentham lately – Locke inspired Thomas Jefferson, especially in his writing of the Declaration of Independence. For example, the phrase “they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” comes mostly from Locke, especially “endowed by their Creator with … rights”.  However, the “pursuit of Happiness” was an edit of his original “Property” and that new phrase came from Bentham. In his 1789 “An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation”, Bentham equated “happiness” with “benefit, advantage, pleasure, good” and applied it both to individuals and to society as a whole.

Bentham was the original “progressive” and would still be considered a leader in that direction.  Here’s how one source (Alexander Guerrero, U. of Pennsylvania) describes him (emphasis mine):
“… a political radical for his era, arguing for the separation of church and state, for equal rights for women, for the right to divorce, for animal rights, for decriminalization of sexual acts between people of the same sex, and for the abolition of slavery, the death penalty, and various forms of physical punishment including upon children.” This was in the late 18th to early 19th centuries.  How much further have we progressed (gay rights, and then  … ??? ).

Rejection of “conservative” or “tory” views, throwbacks to an age before republican democracies, the views Bentham battled more than 200 years ago, is mandatory if this country, this world, is to approach that goal so beloved by Miss America contestants: world peace – but peace between all segments of all societies in ways that matter to everyone, not just peace between power-hungry governments with weapons.

Or so I believe.