milieu:

surroundings, especially of a social or cultural nature

 

utilitarianism:

an ethical theory which states that the best action is the one that maximizes utility. "Utility" is usually in terms of the well-being of sentient entities. Bentham, the founder of utilitarianism, described utility as the sum of all pleasure that results from an action, minus the suffering of anyone involved in the action.  It is a version of consequentialism, which states that the consequences of any action are the only standard of right & wrong.  However unlike other forms of consequentialism (such as egoism), utilitarianism considers the interests of all beings equally.