As a card-carrying member of the economics profession, I have been trained to view the world from the perspective of the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham, according to whom the purpose of public policy is to create the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Policies that do not abide by some variant of this utilitarian principle (as proposed by, say, John Rawls or Amartya Sen) are bound to be inefficient or unfair.
作为拥有正式与会资格的经济学专家，我所接受的训练让我用英国哲学家边沁（Jeremy Bentham）的观点看待世界。边沁认为，公共政策的目的是为最广大人民创造最大幸福。政策如果不受一些功利主义原则变量的约束，那么（如约翰·罗尔斯（John Rawls）或阿玛蒂亚·森（Amartya Sen）等人所言）它们就必然是无效或不公正的。