Editing Marginalism (section)

=== Marginal use ===
{{main|Marginal use}}
The marginal use of a [[Good (economics)|good or service]] is the specific use to which an agent would put a given increase, or the specific use of the good or service that would be abandoned in response to a given decrease.<ref name="wieser_ein">von Wieser, Friedrich; ''Über den Ursprung und die Hauptgesetze des wirtschaftlichen Wertes'' <nowiki>[</nowiki>''The Nature and Essence of Theoretical Economics''<nowiki>]</nowiki> (1884), p. 128.</ref>

Marginalism assumes, for any given agent, [[Rational choice theory|economic rationality]] and an [[Order theory|ordering]] of possible states-of-the-world, such that, for any given set of constraints, there is an attainable state which is best in the eyes of that agent.  [[Positivism|Descriptive]] marginalism asserts that choice amongst the specific means by which various anticipated specific states-of-the-world (outcomes) might be affected is governed only by the distinctions amongst those specific outcomes; [[Normative economics|prescriptive]] marginalism asserts that such choice ''ought'' to be so governed.

On such assumptions, each increase would be put to the specific, feasible, previously unrealized use of greatest priority, and each decrease would result in abandonment of the use of lowest priority amongst the uses to which the good or service had been put.<ref name="wieser_ein" />