What are rules designed to do?
If we proceed from a rule-utilitarian perspective than we have two routes to follow that I can think of. John Rawls has broken the path so well in terms of his reflexive equilibrium that many may only think of his approach, but I also want to consider a different approach that is less obvious. But first, we focus on Rawls.
The reflexive equilibrium is designed to produce rules that coincide with a desirable resulting state-of-the-world. Rules are adjusted like the throttle of a motor-bike to achieve the desired result. Each throttle is tuned to produce incentives necessary to reach the desired outcome. However, Rawls is not so naive as to not give us guidance as to what these throttles are aiming to achieve (his version of the teleos). The primary purpose is to achieve fairness and the possibility of allowing unfairness is only allowed in a dynamic context if the ultimate growth which results form the difference increases the least-well-off. Well certainly this changes the game for interpreting the rule-utilitarian approach. I defy you to find a better discussion of rule-utilitarianism than that which is surrounding the work of John Rawls. Even in economics, James Buchanan relies heavily on Rawls (both took Frank Knight very seriously, BTW). All of this is very rational and very optimistic about human reason. It also enshrines stability and order in rules.
Now that I have told you want is the standard approach to rule-utilitarianism, I want to go further. What I have discovered in reading late 18th and early 19th century texts is that before it was clarified by Rawls, some other thoughts were out there. The name of the game was to replace the interpretation of morality by clerics and create a secular basis for rationally articulating moral reasoning.
The work of the arch-utilitarian Jeremy Bentham is dripping with moral imagery while simultaneously dismissing rights-theory and organized religion. Bentham rejects what Hume would call superstition and enthusiasm, but he holds onto the subjective. [This last line is my own reading]. So what does a utilitarianism look like that includes this type of pursuit. It is something that is larger than the utilitarianism you have been taught was in Bentham.
For example: Bentham considers the question of committing suicide publicly when one's spouse dies. He considers the utility calculation for the individual to justify the position and to argue against it. Certainly the actor in question could be making an accurate representation of their decision, but also the person could feel as if society has put a great deal of pressure on them to do this. Barring an environment where we were clear about the person's actual intentions we would be against such a practice. We could assume society is implicitly compelling the act. However, were we to be convinced of the sincerity of their motivation to die with their spouse, we would be forced to stand aside and allow it to take place.
For a more pedestrian example, should people who borrow money be allowed to do so at high rates? They certainly are higher risk, but who if not the market should decide about the appropriate level of risk in a society (by bidding up returns)? Too many risk-lovers and the market becomes brittle. The 1997 Asian crisis is one concrete example of excessively brittle international relations. The US banking disaster in 2008 is another example of high risk. So what is a rule-utilitarian to decide? Why is it that Bentham breaks from other rule-utilitarians and critiques financial regulation (famously arguing that Smith's defense of usury laws was inconsistent with other parts of his own work)? Bentham believes that society progresses when people take risks. He also longs for more progress which he defines as a result of risk-taking. To use rule-utilitarianism as it is often used, to constrain growth in favor of stability, is to bias the result. There are types of rule-utilitarianism that favor risk, for example.
Ultimately, I want to construct an analysis of rule-utilitarians that distinguishes them according to their time-preference or preference for the status quo vs. progress. The results fly in the face of conventional left-right dynamics. For instance, social democrats and their penchant for redistribution implicitly believe in lower growth rates than do right wingers who are willing to embrace social mobility and high growth. I argue that the conservative / progressive dichotomy is reversed at least on this margin.
What say you?
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