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Foundations of utilitarianism under risk and variable population
1University of Texas at Austin, USA. IZA, Germany.
This study presents new axiomatic characterizations for utilitarian social welfare functions, considering both population size and individual welfare risks. It establishes a novel link between expected critical-level generalized utilitarianism and the probability of existence for potential individuals.
Area of Science:
- Economics
- Social Welfare Theory
- Decision Theory
Background:
- Utilitarianism is a prominent social welfare function in economics.
- Existing axiomatizations often consider social risk or variable population separately.
- There is a need for comprehensive characterizations under combined risks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present three new axiomatic characterizations of utilitarian social welfare functions.
- To analyze utilitarianism in a setting with risk over population size and individual welfares.
- To extend and clarify classic axiomatizations.
Main Methods:
- Axiomatic characterization
- Development of novel axioms
- Analysis of social welfare functions under uncertainty
Main Results:
- Three new axiomatic characterizations of utilitarian social welfare functions are presented.
- Expected Critical-Level Generalized Utilitarianism is shown to be equivalent to a new axiom concerning existence probability.
- Classic axiomatizations are extended and clarified for combined social and population risk settings.
Conclusions:
- The study provides a more complete axiomatic foundation for utilitarian social welfare functions under combined risks.
- A novel ethical consideration regarding the probability of existence is introduced.
- The findings offer new perspectives for social welfare analysis in economics and decision theory.
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