@cshentrup i say it's a tautology, but not meaningless. it is not a thing we measure at all, it is the set of values we impose. it is the name that we give for what we are trying to maximize, but of course we get to choose what we wish to maximize. the tautology part comes in terms of "maximizing utility". decompressing that's the same as saying "maximize what we have chosen should be maximized."