Are Values Incommensurable, or Is Utility the Ruler of the World?

It seems that no matter which way one turns today there is a close connection between law and its contiguous disciplines. The link between law and economics is well established and dates back at least two generations, perhaps more. But the link between law and philosophy has grown apace in recent years. And too often, philosophy works at cross-purposes with economics in understanding law.

One tension between the two disciplines revolves around the relationships among preferences, utility, and choice. For the lawyer/economist these are generally treated as nonproblematic conceptions. The preferences of individuals are usually regarded as stable and well behaved. They are also regarded as largely subjective and incapable of ready comparison across persons.

When these preferences do shift, however, they tend to do so in a relatively predictable fashion, for example, with income or age. Utility is what people want when they choose among the alternatives available to them, whether they deal in the commercial or the social realm. The postulate of rational choice based on individual self-interest does require some modifications in the margins, but it certainly provides the basic orientation of the "law and economics" approach to the field.