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Happiness and Democratic Practices: William Thompson's Radical Democracy

Happiness doesn’t get much attention in political theory. However, in this paper, I argue that it plays an important role as the basis for William Thompson’s radical democratic theory. I show how his conception of happiness differs in important respects from that of his mentor, Jeremy Bentham. Thompson escapes the hedonism at the heart of Bentham’s theory by arguing that happiness is as much a matter of the structure of social institutions as an individual pursuit. In order to promote the greatest happiness, Thompson argues that social institutions must be based on principles of security, equality and voluntarism that can only be fulfilled within a system that incorporates united effort/common property and democratic practices. Democracy, in Thompson’s theory, can be understood as a principle of social interaction as well as a method of governance, as self-government becomes a practice for both individuals and communities. Establishing institutions that lack the primary inhibitors to happiness - competition and private property - enables the development of a benevolent society that can lead to the greatest happiness.