Explain why utilitarianism has difficulty favoring justice showing how and why unjust treatment of some people for sake of happiness is possible with this theory?

Answer 1

Most human beings have a variety of biases, and are more loyal to the groups to which they belong (if indeed they are loyal to anyone other than themselves) rather than to the abstract concept of justice. During the O.J.Simpson trial, I saw people coming forward who had never even met the man, claiming that he was undoubtedly innocent. That followed logically (according to them) from the fact that he was a famous African-American. That is a blatant example, but many more subtle cases exist. So people want their own group to come out ahead, but then they also want to claim that justice is being done. This is much like the fact that in any typical war, everyone on either side of the conflict claims that God is on their side, when clearly, God can't be on everybody's side when the sides are in conflict. Utilitarianism may suggest that it is more useful to give the majority what they want, than it is to pursue actual justice. Hence, persecution of minority groups can be very popular and can lead to political success for those who do it. In the US, the most generally hated minority group is the homosexuals. Several people have obtained considerable wealth and power by forming anti-gay hate groups; Fred Phelps is an example of such a person. The late Jerry Falwell is another. And even President Obama has done very little for the cause of gay rights, knowing how unpopular it is. Justice gives way to expediency.