Q.Explain any four features of utility.
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Utility means the capacity of a commodity to satisfy a human want. It is an abstract, measurable-in-principle concept with several distinctive features; four important ones are explained below.
1. Utility is relative: The utility of a good is never fixed — it changes with time, place and the situation of the consumer. Woollen clothes have high utility in winter but low utility in summer, and an umbrella has more utility in the rains.
2. Utility is subjective (psychological): Utility depends on the mental attitude and taste of the individual consumer, so the same good gives different utility to different people. Cigarettes have utility for a smoker but none for a non-smoker.
3. Utility is ethically neutral (utility is not usefulness): Utility only means want-satisfying power; it has nothing to do with whether a good is morally good or bad or useful for health. A knife or liquor has utility for those who want it, even if it is harmful.
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