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Utilitarianism vs. Natural Law
In today's modern capitalistic, the utilitarian view has gained mass appeal due to the decline
of a social life and the rise of individualism. Utilitarian argues that people should judge the
rightness or wrongness of an action based on the utility derived from the action. This utility may be
intellectual, psychological, or financial and should be evaluated in comparison with the next best
alternative. On the other hand, natural law is described as the law of reason, dependent on its
rational basis. However, its low appeal arises from the fact that many of its adherents conform to
such rigid policies that are inapplicable even from a natural law standpoint. While natural law and
utilitarianism are not stark opposites in the debate on morality, the inherent public opinion differs
sharply between steadfast adherences to natural law to utilitarianism.
Social issue: Use of contraception
This contrast is perhaps best represented with the contrasting opinions about the use of
contraception. On one side, there are the extreme conservatives who argue against the use of
contraceptive. They argue that it defies the natural laws as established by God and promotes sinful
activities. Additionally, they argue that it is God's will that people should recreate and fill the world.
One interesting fact about the proponents of this view come mostly from the Roman Catholic
Church and is designed to shape the opinions of their congregation to conform the Catholic
doctrine. An evaluation of this situation from both the natural law and utilitarian standpoints shows
inherent weaknesses in the natural law arguments as explanations for human actions and
motivations.
Natural law Position on the use of Contraception
Finnis' description of natural law includes what he considers as the basic goods; knowledge,

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life, aesthetic experience, play, religion, sociability, and practical reasonableness. Additionally, he
argues that practical reasonableness needs respect for the basic values in any act which he intended
to enshrine the moral viewpoint of the Roman Catholic Church. The principles of natural law are
based on the premise of practical reasonableness. If people were to stop using contraceptives, then
the global population would start rising uncontrollably which would place an economic burden on
the people. As demonstrated by Thomas Malthus in his theory of work, if human beings reproduce
uncontrollably, then the available food and land resources would quickly diminish leading to
starvation which would lead to famine or drought which Malthus believes to be natures way of
collecting imbalances. His arguments claim that, in history, every time the population has exceeded
nature's capacity to sustain it, then nature finds a way to correct the situation through events such as
floods, fires, drought, and outbreaks of killer diseases. Additionally, on a micro level, the number of
dependents in an average household would increase while unemployment would increase. As
populations increased in urban centers and unemployment also increased, there would be some side
effects that would erode the very moral values that banning contraceptives sought to protect. The
youth would mainly turn to crime and fornication would increase. Additionally, today's health
environment is characterized by killer Sexually Transmitted Diseases such as HIV and the use of
some types of contraceptives such as condoms reduces the risk of contracting these diseases.
Therefore, while following the Catholic standpoint on banning the use of contraceptives is
reasonable from a moral standpoint, it is inapplicable from a practical standpoint due to the wider
consequences resulting from such an action.
Utilitarian approach to the use of contraceptives
On a utilitarian perspective, people should choose whether or not to use contraceptives
based on which action would bring them the most utility. Accordingly, if someone was comfortable
with the opportunity cost of not having a baby for every sexual encounter, then they are ethically
correct in choosing to use contraception. However, if such an individual wanted children, they
should abstain from using contraception. According to the utilitarian theory, the individual would

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get to a point where the utility from having children would be negative and would have to then use
contraceptives. This view is representative of the opinion held by most people on the issue since it
gives them the free will to choose while the natural law theory does not offer such freedoms.
Additionally, this view is the most practically reasonable in today's increasingly democratic world
where people enjoys freedoms to choose their religions, friends, political representatives and other
associated freedoms of choice. Taking away these freedoms would cause revolts which would cause
less utility as compared to simply maintaining the status quo. In this scenario, Utilitarianism
constructs the moral domain could be construed as a body of individual rights and freedoms. While
natural law construed morality as a cluster of obligations as generated by the patterns of
interdependence of human social life over the generations while utilitarianism redefines morality as
a bundle of individual rights and democratically enacted laws that regulate social conduct within
given jurisdiction.
Analysis
However, while it may seem like the utilitarian approach wins the debate, there are possible
pitfalls with the theory. If taken too far, it may turn into moral skepticism that the reasons of state
override the normal moral considerations. The current use of contraceptives has contributed to the
decline of the social community since everyone now is in pursuit of self-interest and the
maximization of utility. The democratic nature of most countries and constitutions allows people
certain basic freedoms and rights as residents of specific domains. The current position in most
countries is giving people the freedom of choice on whether to use contraceptives. However, as the
religious people point out, the current regime has led to a decline of the traditional morally
conscious society as contraceptive use facilitates repeated sexual intercourse without risk of
contracting infections or increasing pregnancies. This has eroded the moral basis of human
existence since sexual intercourse became a casual experience. For those choosing not to use
contraceptives, there is the dis utility occurring to the families since they get additional dependents
decreasing their disposable income and worsening the poverty situation. There are also other cases

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in history where the pursuit of utility and the pursuit of state objectives have led to a decline in
normal moral considerations. For example, the Nazi regime sought to maximize the utility of the
Germans but also caused great disutility to the Jews living under German rule through genocide and
confiscating property. Those choosing to join the regime did so by exercising their constitutional
laws coupled with a blatant disregard for pre-existing moral values governing social conduct.
Therefore, the application of utilitarianism to social problems should be undertaken cautiously
because if done in excess, it results in worse conditions for all parties involved.
Recommendation and conclusion
Utilitarianism advocates for the complete pursuit of self-interest as rational individuals seek
to maximize their utility in their lives. In the contraception issue, utilitarianism advocates for the
pursuit of self-interest and freedom of choice. Constitutions in democratic nations accord each
individual certain unalienable rights and freedoms which they are free to exercise. However, the
exercise of these freedoms may lead to moral skepticism and the pursuit of selfish interests to the
exclusion of the interest of others. On the other hand, proponents of natural law stick to a strict noncompromising adherence that is impractical in real life thus defeating one of the basic premises of
the theory. As shown above, such a position contradicts the very elements of human goods namely
the freedoms accorded to individuals by laws dictating their conduct when interacting with each
other. The analysis above shows that it is irrational to argue on the rightness or wrongness of one
theory since each has its inherent downfalls. Therefore, while governments may wish to use
contraception as a population control measure, they should restrain themselves from imposing the
mandatory use of contraception as this would then be contrary to the principles of utilitarianism.
There should be some element of moral constraint to people's activities as reckless pursuit of utility
will lead to a lack for the consideration of other people in society and nature.
I would use utilitarianism approach to solve the social issue about the use of contraceptives.
However, I would also include some constraints granted on the freedoms of choice as they can lead
to disastrous situations such as both World Wars. As Grotius argues, natural law and utility are not

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absolutes, and utility can only be served by framing laws in accordance to nature. This will lead to a
more morally conscious and cohesive society that fosters about peace and prosperity to all involved.
It will also lead to a sustainable population growth rates while achieving other macroeconomic
objectives.