Question

Total utility remains the same, whether marginal utility is positive or negative. Defend or refute

Answer 1

The upcoming discussion will update you about the difference between total utility and marginal utility.

Utility, in ordinary sense, means usefulness. But, in economics, it means want-satisfying power of a commodity or service — the power to satisfy a human want. Thus, a pen has utility to a teacher but not to an illiterate farmer. As Joan Robinson comment: “Utility is the quality in commodities that makes individuals went to buy them, and the fact that individuals went to buy commodities shows that they have utility.