Interpersonal Comparisons of Utility: A Comment

Lionel Robbins

Chapter 14 in Economic Science and Political Economy, 1997, pp 199-204 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract In the course of his interesting paper on the “Scope and Method of Economics,”* Mr. Harrod raises once more the question of the status of interpersonal comparisons of utility. I do not wish directly to controvert any of his statements on this matter. But it occurs to me that a short account of the genesis of the views which I have put forward, and which form the subject of his friendly comment, might at once elucidate the nature of our differences and make clear to those who rejoice in the spectacle of disunity how very slender the practical implications of these differences actually are. I must apologise in advance for the personal nature of the argument. I am under no illusion concerning the interest of my intellectual difficulties in so far as they are purely my own. But, in so far as they can be regarded as typical, a brief explanation may perhaps facilitate mutual understanding.

Keywords: Free Trade; Marginal Utility; Economic Science; Interpersonal Comparison; Scientific Demonstration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1997
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DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-12761-0_15

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