----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- [Responding to J. Barkley Rosser's posting:] I don't understand your distinction. Surely for an economist it is only the utility that matters. There are both positive and negative externalities associated with eating. (Think of your grandmother making cookies for you when you were a child.) True the other does not gain utility (or disutility) in the same manner, but there is a joint consumption. Rod Hay ------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------ For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]