What is Utilitarianism?

Utilitarianism is the doctrine/theory which states that an action is right, as it promotes the greatest amount of pleasure and the least amount of pain. Utilitarianism is a type of consequentialism, which postulates that the only standard of determining right and wrong of an act is to analyze the consequences of that action. In making this assessment of consequences, utilitarianism examines the interests of all beings equally and in aggregate.