Equal Consideration of Interests

"Equal consideration of interests" is the name of a moral principle that states that one should both include all affected interests when calculating the rightness of an action and weigh those interests equally.

The principle thus opposes theories that either exclude some interests from the moral calculus or weigh certain interests differently from others. Sir Jeremy Bentham's early 1800s dictum, "each to count for one, and none for more than one" can be considered a formulation of the principle of equal consideration of interests, and a basis for the broader philosophy of utilitarianism. The principle also underlies Peter Singer's views, who is a moral utilitarian that has explicitly adopted it as the foundation of his ethical theory.

If all beings, not just human, are included as having interests that must be considered, then the principle of equal consideration of interests opposes not only racism and sexism, but also speciesism and some forms of nationalism.