Toward a Reconstruction of Utility and Welfare Economics

Murray N. Rothbard

Individual valuation is the keystone of economic theory. For, fundamentally, economics does not deal with things or material objects. Economics analyzes the logical attributes and consequences of the existence of individual valuations. “Things” enter into the picture, of course, since there can be no valuation without things to be valued. But the essence and the driving force of human action, and therefore of the human market economy, are the valuations of individuals. Action is the result of choice among alternatives, and choice reflects values, that is, individual preferences among these alternatives.

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Meet the Author
Murray N. Rothbard
Murray N. Rothbard

Murray N. Rothbard made major contributions to economics, history, political philosophy, and legal theory. He combined Austrian economics with a fervent commitment to individual liberty.

Mises Wire Murray N. Rothbard
[ Editor’s note: In this article, originally published in October 1984, Murray Rothbard critiques a problem with the economics of Republicans and conservatives. Namely, its proponents think they can...
Mises Wire Murray N. Rothbard
[This article is adapted from Murray Rothbard’s 1977 keynote address to the Libertarian Party.] I used to think that adopting the victory of liberty as the overriding goal must be almost self-evident...
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References

In The Logic of Action One, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 1997, pp. 211-254.

In The Logic of Action One, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 1997, pp. 211-254.