Abstract
Although we all make interpersonal utility comparisons, many economists and philosophers argue that our limited information about other people’s minds renders them meaningless. If they are possible, interpersonal comparisons of utility differences must be distinguished from interpersonal comparisons of utility levels. Utilitarianism must assume the interpersonal comparability of utility differences to maximize a social welfare function, while Rawls’s maximin principle requires interpersonal comparability of utility levels. Adopting an ordinalist or a cardinalist view of utility functions restricts the positions one can consistently take as to interpersonal comparability of utilities.
This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, 2008. Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume
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Harsanyi, J.C. (2008). Interpersonal Utility Comparisons. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1119-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1119-2
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5
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Keywords
- Arrow, K.
- Interpersonal utility comparisons
- Maximin
- Rawls, J.
- Robbins, L.
- Utilitarianism
- Utility: cardinal vs. ordinal
- von Neumann–Morgenstern utility function
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Chapter history
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Latest
Interpersonal Utility Comparisons- Published:
- 27 March 2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1119-2
-
Original
Interpersonal Utility Comparisons- Published:
- 16 November 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1119-1
