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| Author: | Warke, T. |
| Title: | Classical utilitarianism and the methodology of determinate choice, in economics and ethics |
| Journal: | Journal of Economic Methodology
2000 : NOV, VOL. 7:3, p. 373-394 |
| Index terms: | UTILITY THEORY ECONOMICS ETHICS |
| Language: | eng |
| Abstract: | This paper argues that modern economic theory is essentially utilitarian with one significant exception: its abandonment of a multi-dimensional conception of utility. The paper reviews three alternative methods by which utility can be portrayed as a one-dimensional, hence determinate, index of desire, while suggesting that none of them can command empirical support. A second theme of the paper is that classical utilitarianism, by denying the ontological existence of intrinsic worth, implies the coincidence of economic and ethical aggregate optimality: those choices that maximize the self-perceived happiness of rational agents are also the right choices. |
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