Utilitarianism vs. Kantian Ethics

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how the act of prostitution presents a dilemma where, by Kantian ethics, it cannot serve as a morally correct universal law but that it is subject to circumstances. It shows that under the concept of utilitarianism, however, prostitution is justifiable if the costs of the action are less than the benefits received. The paper concludes that if an action cannot become a universal law, as in the case of prostitution where it cannot be said that "prostitution is ethical," that action cannot be termed as morally correct because, as the statistics have shown, its adverse effects would somehow outdo benefits.

From the Paper:

"From the utilitarianism standpoint, however the act of prostitution is not unethical if it serves or benefits a greater number of people while harming a smaller number. Moreover if the consequences of the action provide benefit such as economic, to the person who undertakes it then it follows that the action cannot be condemned on moral grounds.
For instance, in United States prostitution remains illegal, based on three assumptions; that prostitution leads to organized crime, that prostitution is linked to increase in general crime and that prostitution leads to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases. However it has been seen that these assumptions are not supported by statistics."

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