Most of the classical economists already knew about utilitarianism... So, if you want to look for the origins of a utility theory of value (or the transition from a labor to a utility theory of value) you should return to the scholastics. But if you want to study the transition from classical to neoclassical economics, I guess that what you have to do is to examine the marginal revolution. (These are old references but I think may be helpful: Robert M. Fischer, The Logic of Economic Discovery. Neoclassical Economics and the Marginal Revolution, Brighton: Wheatsheaf Books, 1986; or Mark Blaug, "Was There a Marginal Revolution?" Blaug, Mark, The History of Political Economy, 4, 2, Fall 1972, 269-280) However, if I understood the kind of "move" or "transition" you have in mind (which is a much broader and fascinating transformation that partly explains Blaug's concerns about the issue) my suggestion is to do a careful reading of Karl Polanyi's The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time (1957, reedited in 2001 by Stiglitz) (maybe you have done it already) I think it is still the best and most complete reference to understand the transition you referred to (with all the implications it involved, also for both economic activity and economic analysis) Then, I guess you could move to all the literature on the history of consumption All the best, Olivia Orozco