UTILITARIANISM AND HUMAN DIGNITY: A MILLIAN PERSPECTIVE ON SOCIAL WELFARE AND MORAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Utilitarianism has often been criticised for its alleged inability to account for human dignity, particularly in societies where social welfare policies risk subordinating individual worth to aggregate utility. This problem becomes especially pressing in the Nigerian context, where persistent challenges such as poverty, gender inequality, weak social institutions, and policy decisions driven by economic expediency frequently raise questions about whether individuals are treated as ends in themselves or merely as instruments of social benefit. This article examines John Stuart Mill’s utilitarianism as a possible framework for reconciling social welfare with respect for human dignity, focusing on his distinction between higher and lower pleasures and his emphasis on autonomy, moral development, and self-respect. The central problem addressed is whether Mill’s utilitarianism can offer a morally adequate response to situations in which policies justified in the name of public good appear to undermine personal dignity, as seen in certain Nigerian social and political practices. By interpreting dignity not as an abstract metaphysical property but as something grounded in the cultivation of rational and moral capacities, the work argues that Mill provides a more nuanced account of dignity than is commonly assumed. His utilitarianism, when properly understood, prioritizes forms of happiness that enhance human agency, education, and freedom, thereby offering resources for critiquing policies that merely maximize economic outcomes without regard for personal development. In conclusion, while Mill’s utilitarianism does not eliminate all tensions between utility and dignity, it offers a valuable ethical framework for evaluating social reform in developing societies such as Nigeria. Its emphasis on higher pleasures and human flourishing allows utilitarian reasoning to function not as a tool of moral reductionism, but as a critical guide for promoting social progress while safeguarding the dignity of persons.