Étude de diverses appellations pour le concept utility en économie Les termes comme témoins de l’évolution de la théorie

Adopting a diachronic perspective, this paper focuses on the economic concept of “utility” from the eighteenth century onwards. In order to set the conceptual framework, a number of related concepts –“needs”, “desires’, “value”, “rarity”, and “labour”– are first reviewed. Then, the analysis highlights the evolution of the “utility” concept under the influence of the prevailing ideas at different periods of time : hence the various denominations that bear witness to how much the perception of the concept varied.