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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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