Official Aptitude Maximized: Expense Minimized

by Jeremy Bentham

In 1824 Bentham conceived the idea of publishing a collection of essays in order to illustrate his own ideal of constitutional law, encapsulated in the aphorism "aptitude maximized, expense minimized" and to contrast it with practice under the British constitution, which he believed to be based on entirely the opposite principle. The volume was published in 1830 and was intended to complement the detailed administrative provisions which he had been drafting for his Constitutional Code , the major endeavor of the final decade of his life. The two works are therefore closely related, both chronologically and thematically. For this latest volume in the new critical edition of the works and correspondence of Jeremy Bentham, Philip Schofield has undertaken a complete survey of the manuscripts composed by Bentham in the process of drafting the papers which formed Official Aptitude, and included hitherto unpublished essays in the three Appendices.

556 pages, Hardcover

First published August 26, 1993

About the author

In 1748, Jeremy Bentham was born in London. The great philosopher, utilitarian humanitarian and atheist began learning Latin at age four. He earned his B.A. from Oxford by age 15 or 16, and his M.A. at 18. His Rationale of Punishments and Rewards was published in 1775, followed by his groundbreaking utilitarian work, Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. Bentham propounded his principle of "the greatest happiness of the greatest number." He worked for political, legal, prison and educational reform. Inheriting a large fortune from his father in 1792, Bentham was free to spend his remaining life promoting progressive causes. The renowned humanitarian was made a citizen of France by the National Assembly in Paris. In published and unpublished treatises, Bentham extensively critiqued religion, the catechism, the use of religious oaths and the bible. Using the pen-name Philip Beauchamp, he co-wrote a freethought treatise, Analysis of the Influence of Natural Religion on the Temporal Happiness of Mankind (1822). D. 1832.

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http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jeremy_B...

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