Understanding the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility

The question asks about the economist who propagated the law of diminishing marginal utility. This is a fundamental principle in economics that explains consumer behavior.

Let's first understand what the law of diminishing marginal utility means. It states that as a person increases consumption of a product, while keeping consumption of other products constant, there is a decline in the marginal utility that person derives from consuming each additional unit of that product.

In simpler terms, the more you consume something, the less additional satisfaction you get from each extra unit consumed. Think about eating pizza. The first slice is very satisfying, the second is still good, but the third slice provides less additional satisfaction than the second, and so on. Eventually, you might get no additional satisfaction or even negative satisfaction (disutility) from another slice.

Who Propagated the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility?

While many economists have discussed and used this concept, the economist most widely credited with formally stating and propagating the law of diminishing marginal utility is Hermann Heinrich Gossen.

• H. H. Gossen, a German economist, published his work in 1854, laying out what are now known as "Gossen's Laws".
• His first law is the law of diminishing marginal utility.
• His second law deals with the condition for maximizing utility when consuming multiple goods.

Although Alfred Marshall later significantly developed and popularized marginal utility analysis in his influential work "Principles of Economics" (1890), incorporating it into mainstream economic theory, the initial propagation and formal statement of the law of diminishing marginal utility are attributed to H. H. Gossen.

Analyzing the Options

• H. H. Gossen: As discussed, Gossen is credited with the initial formulation and propagation of the law of diminishing marginal utility.
• Alfred Marshall: Marshall extensively used and popularized the concept but was not the first to propagate it.
• Gossen and Marshall: While both are associated with marginal utility, Gossen is the one who first propagated the specific law of diminishing marginal utility.
• None of these: This is incorrect as H. H. Gossen is listed as an option.

Therefore, based on the historical development of economic thought, H. H. Gossen is the economist who propagated the law of diminishing marginal utility.