In his 1871 book, Jevons explained the exchange of commodities betweenindividuals as their choices for utility maximization. While his explanationprovided the price theory with a micro-foundation, it also revealed theoreticconflicts between personal choices and social phenomena. Jevons’s attempts toresolve the conflicts, which the present paper critically examines, are ratherconfusing. This examination is intended for a better understanding of theexchange theory of Jevons and the later developments of price theory.