Saturday, July 11, 2009

T. Hobbes: Marginalist?

Der Geist writes with this question:

Did Thomas Hobbes have at least some glimmerings of the origins of subjective marginalist thinkings in economics?


Justice of Actions, is by writers divided into commutative, Distributive; ...Commutative they place in the equality of value of the things contracted for; and distributive, in the distribution of equall benefit, to men of equall merit. As if it were Injustice to sell dearer than we buy; or to give more to a man than he merits. The value of all things contracted for, is measured by the Appetite of the Contractors: and therefore the just value, is that which they be contented to give (Leviathan, chapter 15, paragraph 15)

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