Controversies
Some authors have commented on the ambiguity of the terms "cardinal utility" and "ordinal utility", as used in economic jargon:
These terms, which seem to have been introduced by Hicks and Allen (1934), bear scant if any relation to the mathematicians' concept of ordinal and cardinal numbers; rather they are euphemisms for the concepts of order-homomorphism to the real numbers and group-homomorphism to the real numbers
—John Chipman, The foundations of utility
There remain economists who believe that utility can be measured. These measures are not perfect but can act as a proxy for the utility. Lancaster's characteristics approach to consumer demand illustrates this point.
Read more about this topic: Cardinal Utility