"First of all, individual ideas of that which is pleasurable vary. Sadism and masochism are common enough, and most 'normal' emotions draw on these impulses in varying degrees. The criterion I prefer is a commonsensical one. The task of ethical thought is to pursue the greatest happiness for the greatest number. How we conceive this will vary with people and with periods, and will form part of the social debate. Individuals who are at all original will, no doubt, be out of step with the notions of their contemporaries. This does not change my argument that the utilitarian criterion is the one I should wish to see generally accepted, however much individual applications of it differ."