Jeremy Bentham’s Utilitarianism : Foundation of the Theory of Leonwalras?

This text challenges assumptions about the foundations of the Leon Walras' marginalist theory in the utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham. The problematic is approached through a comparative study between Bentham's and Walras' ideas on three focus areas: 1. their views of society and the social objective; 2. their theoretical and methodological approaches in direct relation to their particular social theory; 3. the location of a principle of utility within the general theories of society. This study contributes to an ongoing debate about the philosophical foundations of rational choice theory and is an attempt to complicate presumptions of homogeneity in the work of the founders of marginalism