This paper aims to identify in classical utilitarianism a particular definition of the relations between the individuals and the State, as well as the postulation of a specific ideal of personality. Based on considerations about the works of Jeremy Bentham, James Mill and John Stuart Mill, it intends to put in evidence the often overlooked moral dimension of the utilitarian thought and its corollaries. Through the analysis of the peculiar definition of human nature postulated by those authors, its normative and institutional developments in the prescription of a specific model of social and political organization are subjected to investigation.
Utilitarianism; Morality; Individualism; Modern political thought