Power and Limitations of the Concept of Rational Choice - Essay Example

Power and Limitations of the Concept of Rational Choice Rational Choice Theory: The theory of a rational choice was based on the understanding of Human behaviours. In the modern world it is mostly applied in politics, economics and science. Rationality choice is considered to be entailed in the contemporary sociological theory. The implication of rationality choice rest on the assumption of old utilitarian principle, maximising profit for personal good and making oneself satiated. The fundamentals of rationality can be personified as individual making calculation backing his behaviour, choice are made using rationality than emotive thoughts, sole aim is to enlarge profits. The concern concept has made consequential inroads into fields of marketing, criminology and international relations. The existence of rational choice can’t be denied in-spite of plethora of critics. Under a rational choice theory a person’s decision reflects the most preferred opinion taken from the others. According to Morris (2004), the choices are made on the maximum utilisation of resources available. The rational choice theory has been build on the basis that the people tend to evaluate and calculate all benefits and costs associated with different things before taking any decision. According to the rational choice theorists, the goals and target of the individuals which are also known to their preferences motivate them for a particular task or activity. Individuals tend to go for the activities and tasks which are according to their needs and requirements. According to this theory the people take decisions which are beneficial for them and avoid such decisions which have negative implications. However, this evaluation about the positive and negative implications of different decisions and activities is strictly dependent on the availability of the information about the results and outcomes associated with those decisions and activities. There are different views and thoughts about the rational choice theory. According to some theorists this theory or rational choice have several benefits and on the other hand some theorists and analysts are of the idea that there are several limitations associated with the rational choice theory (Brennan, 2005). In this essay and attempt has been made to present and evaluate some of the powers and limitations associated with the theory of rational choice. This will allow to further evaluate the application of the rational approach in different domains and areas. Power of Rational Choice: It brings up numerous benefits, one amongst many states is, with individuals employing rationality in making decisions, future projections about an individual behaviour can be projected and framed. Many contemporary researches comprises of hypothesis seeking answers to unpredictable. Adding on to the benefits of rationality choice, there is a mathematical model that work behind this phenomenon, that allow scientists to make inferences that otherwise isn’t possible. Later such collections can be presented for empirical verification. Rationality choice is purging on subjectivity that has been long debated in social sciences and different school of thoughts (Boudon, 2003). According to Becker (1976), this approach is successful because this theory can be applied while constructing a formula from the given variables. The rational choice theories have the ability to generate new predictions. The methodology of rational approach tends to create narrative predictions, which is the updated version of narrative confirmation according to the view of Gerrard (1993). The Rational choice theory is also useful for the researchers as it guides them to formulate novel implications. While considering the phenomena of power in rational choices, the rational choice theory solves the problem of efficient distribution and aggregation while ignoring the political problems, in the light of Joseph (1998). Many economical, technical and political problems can be resolved by taking rational decisions not irrational. Hence, it can be said that the rational choice theory can be one of the important tools which can be used during the process of decision making. Owing to all these benefits of the rational approach, this concept is being used by several researchers and analysts in various domains (Ostrom, 1991). Limitations of Rational Choice: There are many features in the rational policy which makes it complex and cannot be summarised in an understandable way. It is difficult to found the replacement for the assumptions used in the rational behaviour. This problem does not exist in the traditional literatures. The traditional assumptions were simply structured and easy to understand. The decisions taken with the help of the rational choice are directly related with the information available. Hence, it is important to make sure that accurate and reliable information is available so that the final decision is effective and efficient (Boudon, 1998). The limitations of rational choices are based on theoretical, empirical and practical bases as stated by Suzumura (1983). According to practical perspective, the criticisms are usually made due to the Theorists asking unnecessary questions instead of asking write questions. Theoretical criticisms challenge the nature of model assumptions and it is also due to the conclusions not linking with the assumptions made by the Theorists. According to the critique of rationality choice, countering argument that is, individuals when always indulged in making choices that are to ensure they collect the major profits, then why do ever individuals go with choices that has more collectivist domain. Rationality choice theory falls short of explaining such critiques (Hetcher and Satoshi, 1997). Rationality choice theory does not take into account the prevailing norms of the society an individual resides in. when an individual forms an ideology, social norms and culture concurrently impact big. Therefore discarding social norms mean, an individual is in aloof setting but with social norms in the scenario, an individual definitely carries possibility of acting selflessly and for the greater good of the society. It also does not take into account social structures (Feddersem, 2004). Despite of the limitations associated with the rational theory, different analysts and theorists are using this approach and it is gaining popularity at rapid rate. List of References Boudon, R. (1998), ‘Limitations of Rational Choice Theory,’ American Journal of Sociology, vol. 104, no. 3, pp. 817-828. Boudon, R. (2003), ‘Beyond Rational Choice Theory,’ Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 29, pp. 1-21. Brennan, A. (2005), Rational Choice Theory, Oxford University Press, Oxford Feddersem T. (2004), ‘Rational Choice Theory and the Paradox of not voting,’ The Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 99-112. Gerrard. J. B. (1993), The Economics of Rationality, Routledge, London Hetcher, M., and Satoshi, K. (1997), ‘Sociological Rational Choice Theory,’ Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 23, pp. 191-214 Joseph. S. (1998), Political Theory and Power, Foundation Books, 1998, New Delhi. Morris. L. I. (2004), Politics from Anarchy to Democracy: Rational Choice in Political Science, 2004, Stanford University press, California Ostrom, E. (1991), ‘Rational Choice Theory and Institutional Analysis: toward complementarity,’ The American Journal of Political Science Review, vol. 85, no. 1, pp. 237-243. Suzumura. K. (1983), Rational Choice, Collective Decisions, and Social Welfare, Cambridge University Press, New York Read More