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How Does Utilitarianism Aid In Self-Determination?

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How Does Utilitarianism Aid In Self-Determination?
Gunnar Almgren (2012), provides an in depth analysis of social justice theories, Libertarianism, Utilitarianism, Marxism, and the Capabilities Approach.
Utilitarianism is the belief of maximizing good for the greatest amount of people (Almgren, 2012, p. 8). An example of this is taxes that are levied in order to build community infrastructures. This theory is extremely useful as it focuses on the happiness and benefits of citizens. However, after reading Madison Powers and Ruth Faden’s Essential Dimensions of Well-being, I came to realize that utilitarianism, by default, does not aid in self-determination.
Self-determination is described as a characteristic that leads people to make decisions based on their own desires and needs (NGSD, 2015).
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