Total Utility and Marginal Utility
Utility may be defined as the power-of a commodity or service to satisfy a human wantJt is essentially a subjective or introspective concept
. It relates to inner sentiments and emotions. It is not inherent in the commodity itself. It depends rather upon thể mental make-up of the consumer; utility, in fact, resides in the mind of the consumer. The same commodity may have different degrees of utility for different persons. Secondly, the utflity cannot be equated with usefulness. A commodity may not be useful, yet it may have utility for a particular person. For example, liquor is considered to be harmful for health, yet it may have a high degree of utility for an alcoholic.
Total Utility and Marginal Utility Utility is of two types :
(i) total utility and
(ii) marginal utility.
A consumer consumes a number of a units of commodity to satisfy a particular want The utility which accrues to the consumer from the final or the marginal unit of the commodity consumed is known as the marginal utility(For example, if a consumer consumes fhve apples, then the utility accruing to him from the fifth apple will be known as the marginal utility. But the utility which accrues to the consumer from all the units of the commodity is known as total utility In this example, the utility secured by the consumer from all the five apples is known as the total utility. The total utility and the marginal utility are closely related with each other.
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