This work investigates the practical application of Utilitarian philosophy as a governing framework within the British administration of India during the nineteenth century. Eric Stokes, a noted historian of British India, examines how the abstract moral theories of Jeremy Bentham and his followers were transformed into a rigid, administrative science of society. By analyzing the careers of key figures such as James Mill, Thomas Macaulay, and Fitzjames Stephen, the author argues that Utilitarianism provided the intellectual justification for the expansion and consolidation of British imperial power.

Historians and political scientists frequently cite this text as a foundational study on the intersection of political theory and colonial administration. Scholars often note the rigorous archival research and the clarity with which Stokes connects abstract philosophical concepts to concrete imperial policy.