On Measuring Utility

Abstract

While it is true that in a considerable part of economic analysis the concept of cardinal utility can be dispensed with, the tenet that utility is intrinsically non‐measurable is a belief rather than an established fact. But we know intuitively, and it is freely admitted even by the cardinalists themselves (Robertson, 1951), that differences between the satisfactions enjoyed by different persons cannot possibly be conceived as amenable to measurement, and that hence a concept of community welfare which does not involve value judgments belongs to the realm of phantasy.

Citation

Gabor, A. and James, S.F. (1979), "On Measuring Utility", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 6 No. 5, pp. 440-456. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb013851