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Full Idea
The economic principle of marginal utility states that for a given individual a set amount of something is more useful when the individual has little of it than when he has a lot.
Gist of Idea
'Marginal utility' says something is more useful if it is in short supply
Source
Peter Singer (Practical Ethics [1979], 02)
Book Ref
Singer,Peter: 'Practical Ethics' [CUP 1989], p.22
A Reaction
But individuals may very a lot on this one. 'He can't get enough of X'. I may be desperate to buy 10,000 books, but you may consider such a need ridiculous, so who decides?
| 193 | Some things are good even though they are not beneficial to men [Plato] |
| 26 | Wealth is not the good, because it is only a means [Aristotle] |
| 19752 | If we should not mistreat humans, it is mainly because of sentience, not rationality [Rousseau] |
| 20278 | 'Marginal utility' says something is more useful if it is in short supply [Singer] |
| 3786 | Aggression in defence may be beneficial but morally corrupting [Glover] |