A person who believes in or follows the philosophical ideas of Jeremy Bentham, especially utilitarianism and the principle of maximizing happiness.
From Bentham plus -ite, a suffix meaning 'a follower or believer.' Became common in 19th-century England to identify supporters of Bentham's radical utilitarian movement.
The Benthamites were like the tech disruptors of Victorian England—they wanted to completely redesign society based on rational calculation of happiness instead of just copying what their great-grandparents did.
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