Total utility is a core concept in economics and helps explain why people behave in certain manners when it comes to making decisions about what goods or services to purchase. Total utility is a summation of the utility received from consuming certain goods or services. This concept may use utils, a unit of measure that represents the satisfaction that results from consuming a product or service.

In order to understand total utility, one needs to understand the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility. This law explains that as the consumption of a good or service increases, the additional satisfaction or utility, marginal utility, will decrease. In other words, the more of a service or product a person consumes, the less satisfaction they receive. This diminishing marginal utility helps explain why consumers have a limit as to how much of a specific product or service they would purchase.

The goal of economic theories is to analyze consumer behavior in light of total utility maximization. In essence, this means that people try to find the maximum utility they can get from a good or service, based on their budget and preferences. This usually involves them purchasing units perceived to have the greatest utility satisfaction.

For example, imagine that you want to purchase a new laptop but you want to get the one with the most utility for your money. You would likely compare the features, price, and reviews of different laptops in order to determine which one provides the best value for money. This is an example of total utility maximization through the comparison of different products.

In the end, total utility is an important concept in economics and plays an integral part in analyzing and understanding consumer behavior. The Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility provides a basis for understanding why people’s satisfaction tends to decrease with the increasing consumption of a product or service. People will generally attempt to maximize their total utility through the selection of goods or services they believe will provide them the most satisfaction for their money.