Abstract

This study aims to show that, contrary to popular belief, hedonism has played a central and continuous role in the development of economic theory. The work starts with a brief discussion of the nature and meaning of hedonism. This is supplemented with a short examination of the origins of hedonistic ideas. Sections deal with: the systematic appearance of hedonistic ideas in modern thought, and its subsequent introduction to the field of economics with the work of Bentham, Mill, Senior and Cairnes; the attempts to downplay hedonism as found in the work of Wickstead, Pareto and Fisher; the modern attempts towards a neutral economic science without psychological or philosophical connotations; the works of Robbins, Hicks, Samuelson as well as the current developments in economic theory and especially in consumer theory; a discussion of alternative economic approaches which stem from non-hedonistic paradigms; Adam Smith, Marx, Keynes, Institutionalist and Post-Keynesian economists as examples of non-hedonistically orientated economists; the methodological issues arising from the connection of a value system (hedonism) with economic theory.