Readers Question: what axioms underlie the theory of consumer behaviour? How reasonable are they? I have the axioms: completeness, transitivity, continuity, non-satiation and convexity. but we have never been taught about how reasonable they are and I can’t find any info anywhere! please help
It is an interesting question. I am not really qualified to give a good answer as I am not familiar with some of the terms you mention. However, I will look at the issue from a more general perspective.
Rational preference
If a consumer prefers A to B and also prefers B to C. Then, it follows a rational consumer should prefer A to C.
E.g. you prefer Starbucks to Costa Coffee and you prefer Costa Coffee to McDonald’s then you should prefer Starbucks to going to McDonald’s.
Are there consumers who might, given the above, still prefer McDonald’s to Starbucks? It is pretty unlikely, but, consumers can always behave on a whim. It is not impossible.