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The classical authors saw utility as the 'usefulness' of a good or service, 
rather than a subjective state derived from use.  So, Menger's take on 
utility as "the capacity of a thing to serve for the satisfaction of human 
needs" is interesting, because it could be read in a more "classical" way.  
Even the notion of utility as "a general prerequisite of goods-character" 
seems perfectly consistent with Ricardo's opening passage of Chapter One of 
his Principles.  Of course, 'usefulness' requires judgment, as Steve 
Horwitz points out, and 'is [in a sense] in the eye of the beholder', 
though it also cannot be completely devoid of a 'social' character. There 
remains the question of how important the notion is for economics--it may 
be "a prerequisite of goods-character" and yet "not the measure of 
exchangeable value."  
 
Mat Forstater  
 
 
 
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