Letusfirstrecallthedistinctionpreviouslynoticedbetweendutyascommonlyconceived，——thattowhichamanisboundorobliged——，andpraiseworthyorexcellentconduct；since，inconsideringtherelationofUtilitarianismtothemoraljudgmentsofCommonSense，itwillbeconvenienttobeginwiththeformerelementofcurrentmorality，asthemoreimportantandindispensable；i。e。withtheensembleofrulesimposedbycommonopinioninanysociety，whichformakindofunwrittenlegislation，supplementarytoLawproper，andenforcedbythepenaltiesofsocialdisfavourandcontempt。Thislegislation，asitdoesnotemanatefromadefinitebodyofpersonsactinginacorporatecapacity，cannotbealteredbyanyformaldeliberationsandresolutionsofthepersonsonwhoseconsensusitrests；anychangeinitmustthereforeresultfromtheprivateactionofindividuals，whetherdeterminedbyUtilitarianconsiderationsorotherwise。Asweshallpresentlysee，thepracticalUtilitarianproblemisliabletobecomplicatedbytheconflictanddivergencewhichisfoundtosomeextentinallsocietiesbetweenthemoralopinionsofdifferentsectionsofthecommunity:butitwillbeconvenienttoconfineourattentioninthefirstinstancetothecaseofrulesofdutyclearlysupportedby`commonconsent’。Letussupposethenthatafterconsideringtheconsequencesofanysuchrule，aUtilitariancomestotheconclusionthatadifferentrulewouldbemoreconducivetothegeneralhappiness，ifsimilarlyestablishedinasocietyremaininginotherrespectsthesameasatpresent——orinoneslightlydifferentinsofarasourforecastofsocialchangescanbemadesufficientlycleartofurnishanybasisforpractice。Andfirstwewillsupposethatthisnewrulediffersfromtheoldonenotonlypositivelybutnegatively；thatitdoesnotmerelygobeyondandincludeit，butactuallyconflictswithit。Beforehecandecidethatitisrightforhimi。e。conducivetothegeneralhappiness
tosupportthenewruleagainsttheold，byexampleandprecept，heoughttoestimatetheforceofcertaindisadvantagesnecessarilyattendantuponsuchinnovations，whichmayconvenientlybearrangedunderthefollowingheads。
Inthefirstplace，ashisownhappinessandthatofothersconnectedwithhimformapartoftheuniversalendatwhichheaims，hemustconsidertheimportancetohimselfandthemofthepenaltiesofsocialdisapprobationwhichhewillincur:takingintoaccount，besidestheimmediatepainofthisdisapprobation，itsindirecteffectindiminishinghispowerofservingsocietyandpromotingthegeneralhappinessinotherways。Theprospectofsuchpainandlossis，ofcourse，notdecisiveagainsttheinnovation；sinceitmusttosomeextentberegardedastheregularpricethathastobepaidfortheadvantageofthiskindofreformincurrentmorality。Buthere，asinmanyUtilitariancalculations，everythingdependsonthequantityoftheeffectsproduced；whichinthecasesupposedmayvaryverymuch，fromslightdistrustanddisfavourtoseverecondemnationandsocialexclusion。Itoftenseemsthatbyattemptingchangeprematurelyaninnovatormayincurtheseverestformofthemoralpenalty，whereasifhehadwaitedafewyearshewouldhavebeenletoffwiththemildest。
Fortheholdwhichamoralrulehasoverthegeneralmindcommonlybeginstodecayfromthetimethatitisseentobeopposedtothecalculationsofexpediency:anditmaybebetterforthecommunityaswellasfortheindividualthatitshouldnotbeopenlyattacked，untilthisprocessofdecayhasreachedacertainpoint。
Itis，however，ofmoreimportancetopointoutcertaingeneralreasonsfordoubtingwhetheranapparentimprovementwillreallyhaveabeneficialeffectonothers。Itispossiblethatthenewrule，thoughitwouldbemorefelicificthantheoldone，ifitcouldgetitselfequallyestablished，maybenotsolikelytobeadopted，orifadopted，notsolikelytobeobeyed，bythemassofthecommunityinwhichitisproposedtoinnovate。Itmaybetoosubtleandrefined，ortoocomplexandelaborate:itmayrequireagreaterintellectualdevelopment，orahigherdegreeofself-control，thanistobefoundinanaveragememberofthecommunity，oranexceptionalqualityorbalanceoffeelings。Norcanitbesaidinreply，thatbythehypothesistheinnovator’sexamplemustbegoodtowhateverextentit，operates，sinceprotantoittendstosubstituteabetterruleforaworse。Forexperienceseemstoshowthatanexampleofthiskindismorelikelytobepotentnegativelythanpositively；thathere，aselsewhereinhumanaffairs，itiseasiertopulldownthantobuildup；easiertoweakenordestroytherestrainingforcethatamoralrule，habituallyandgenerallyobeyed，hasovermen’sminds，thantosubstituteforitanewrestraininghabit，notsimilarlysustainedbytraditionandcustom。Hencetheeffectofanexampleintrinsicallygoodmaybeonthewholebad，becauseitsdestructiveoperationprovestobemorevigorousthanitsconstructive。Andagain，suchdestructiveeffectmustbeconsiderednotonlyinrespectoftheparticularruleviolated，butofallotherrules。Forjustasthebreakingofanypositivelawhasaninevitabletendencytoencouragelawlessnessgenerally，sotheviolationofanygenerallyrecognisedmoralruleseemstogiveacertainaidtotheforcesthatarealwaystendingtowardsmoralanarchyinanysociety。