Final answer:
Jeremy Bentham did not argue that citizens should apprehend beggars and take them to workhouses; this belief is falsely attributed to him. Bentham's utilitarian philosophy aimed to increase happiness and reduce suffering, and included various legislative and social reforms.
Step-by-step explanation:
Jeremy Bentham, a philosopher and social reformer who is considered the founder of modern utilitarianism, did not argue that any citizen who encountered a beggar should be empowered to apprehend him and take him to the nearest workhouse. Bentham's philosophy was centered around the idea of the greatest happiness principle, which suggests that actions are right if they promote happiness and wrong if they produce the opposite of happiness. While Bentham supported the idea of workhouses as a solution to poverty, he did not advocate for citizens to forcibly take beggars to these institutions. Instead, his approach was more nuanced and involved a complex system of legislative and social reforms aimed at increasing overall happiness and reducing suffering.
The question seems to conflate Bentham's utilitarian principles with specific social policies of the time, which may have included harsh measures toward the poor, including the use of workhouses. However, attributing the notion of giving citizens the power to apprehend beggars directly to Bentham would be incorrect.