追求幸福不是政府的工作

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经济学中一个传统。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。"

This principle is not as obvious as it may sound. In Bentham's time it was challenged by many rival principles; for instance, judging actions by their contribution to French glory or the furthering of the Prussian state. Nearer to home it was challenged by the Aristotelian eudemonia, which valued happiness only so far as it contributed to the philosophical idea of a good life.
这一原则不如听起来那么理所当然。在边沁所处的时代，它就受到了许多其他原则的挑战；比如说，根据为了法国的荣耀或者普鲁士国家疆土扩大所做的贡献来衡量行为。更厉害的是亚里士多德学派的幸福观对它构成的挑战，该派认为幸福只体现在完善哲学观念中的美好生活。

Meanwhile Bentham's followers worried about how to measure happiness, eventually interpreting it as the opportunity to satisfy desires as revealed by people's choices in the marketplace or in voting. This did not satisfy the high-minded; but at least it set a high value on individual choice and did not seek to peer into men's souls.
同时，边沁的追随者们为如何衡量幸福感到焦虑，最终他们将幸福诠释为满足意愿——人们在市场中或者在投票中的选择就体现了他们的意愿——的机会。这无法让高尚的人感到满意；但它起码认为个人选择很有价值，而并未企图深入探索人的灵魂。