The pursuit of happiness has a venerable tradition in British political economy. Jeremy Bentham, the late 18th century founder of utilitarianism, defined it thus: “By the principle of utility is meant that principle which approves or disapproves of every action whatsoever, according to the tendency which it appears to have to augment or diminish the party whose interest is in question . . . if that party be the community in general, then the happiness of the community; if a particular individual then the happiness of that individual . . . The interest of the community then, is what? – the sum of the interest of the several members who compose it.”
追求幸福是英国政治manbetx20客户端下载 学中一个传统。18世纪功利主义创始人杰里米•边沁(Jeremy Bentham)是对功利主义（utilitarianism，又称效用主义）这么下定义的：“所谓效用的原则，是指按照会促进或妨碍利益相关者的幸福——如果是一个群体，就是指这个群体的幸福；如果是某个具体的人，就是指这个人的幸福——的倾向，来赞成或反对任何一项行动……那么，群体的利益是什么？就是构成群体的各个成员的利益的总和。”