This week, a committee of Swedish utilitarian philosophers submitted to the Swedish parliament Riksdagen their plan to significantly reduce suffering in Sweden. The committee says they want to make Sweden a pioneer in suffering reduction. The 25 % cut, which is set out to be reached before 2025, will be the first step toward making the country suffering and pain free by 2050.
The principle of basing moral choices upon what will lead to the least amount of total suffering (negative utilitarianism), has been verified as the correct branch of ethics by 97 % of the world’s moral philosophers. “The overwhelming consensus about the validity of utilitarianism leaves us no choice but to be responsible and take political action in combating pain and suffering”, an official statement by the Swedish government said. Following recent talks of introducing suffering quotas, the Social Democratic Party-led government is expected to soon start taking direct measures to cut the pain of Sweden’s living beings.
Critics of the proposal are suggesting that there could be certain positive sides to suffering and pain, such as added meaning to one’s life and strengthening of character. In a response to Sweden’s utilitarian initiative, renown talisman for the suffering realist community, Hans Osbourne, controversially claimed that “Many people actually experience their times of suffering as their most meaningful, and many wouldn’t choose to be without it”. The utilitarian committee leader John Lundin, however, says he is “shocked there are still people denying that suffering is real”, and concludes that “We have no other option but to start finding alternative sources to human/personal growth”.