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Thomas (Tim) Leonard in a catalog of how the term "utility" has been used says, among
other things, that,
 
> 20th-century rational-choice theory uses "utility" as a name for a mathematical function
that represents a single, complete, transitive ordering of preferences over consumption
bundles.
 
> 3) utility is not measurable, which makes policy (if not voluntary trade) problematic,
but
> 4) different kinds of utility are presumed commensurable, at least in the standard
theory that assumes a single (and complete) ordering of preferences.
 
The, or at least a, prominent question for 20th century theory has been whether this
conception of "utility" will necessarily generate downward sloping demand functions.
 
Bill Williams 
 
 
 
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