 Can consequentialism avoid this conclusion?  Can it be formulated in such a way that it entails the conclusion that allowing very great, undeserved suffering is morally very different, and much more serious, than merely refraining from creating as many happy individuals as possible, or merely refraining from creating individuals who are not as ecstatically happy as they might be?  If it cannot, then it would seem that the correct conclusion to draw is that consequentialism is unsound. On the other hand, if consequentialism can be so formulated that this distinction is captured, then an appeal to consequentialism, thus formulated in a sound way, will not enable one to avoid the crucial objection to the ‘no best of all possible worlds’ response to the argument from evil.