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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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