Bentham: A Fragment on Government

Jeremy Bentham's A Fragment on Government is a critical response to Sir William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765-1769). Bentham discusses the weaknesses of the British government as well as the faults within Blackstone's treatises. He argues for the principle of utility, to logically lead his readers to the idea that a legal code should seek the happiness of the largest amount of people. Bentham criticizes Blackstone's praise of common law in favor of a more equal social and legal order. JEREMY BENTHAM (1748-1832) was a prominent English social reformer at the turn of the eighteenth century. Although he never practiced law, Bentham was trained as a lawyer and became a vocal critic of the legal system in England. As a political philosopher, he published many works on government and law, such as the Introduction to Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789) and Parliamentary Reform Catechism (1817).