ABSTRACT
William Stanley Jevons: the path to modern Utilitarianism The Theory of Political Economy is without a doubt among the foremost classics of economics. For a long time Jevons, Menger, and Walras were considered the founders of Neoclassicism, an ostensibly sudden turn in economic theory which the English often refer to as the ‘Marginalist Revolution.’ This interpretation is challenged by the fact that Cournot and Gossen were certainly more than simple predecessors, since they arrived at discoveries comparable in importance with Jevons, Menger, and Walras. However, Cournot received but little attention, and Gossen as good as none. There was also a lengthy delay before the new perspective introduced by Jevons, Menger, and Walras was accepted, so that Niehans (1990, p. 163) writes, ‘The rise of marginalism may serve as a paradigm for nonrevolutionary change in the history of science.’
