Choice

David Reisman

Chapter 2 in Conservative Capitalism, 1999, pp 15-47 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract The norm is instrumental rationality: ‘It is one of the fundamental characteristics of an individualistic capitalistic economy that it is rationalized on the basis of rigorous calculation, directed with foresight and caution toward the economic success which is sought.’ (Weber, 1904–5:76). Decision-makers living out the imperatives of a non-capitalist ethos will see no incongruity and incur no penalties when they act ‘in terms of affectual orientation, especially emotional’; or where their choice is ‘traditionally oriented, through the habituation of long practice’; or where their action, wertrational, is the emanation of ‘a conscious belief in the absolute value of some ethical, aesthetic, religious, or other form of behaviour, entirely for its own sake and independently of any prospects of external success’ (Weber, 1947:115). Actors living in the individualistic capitalistic economy will have to judge themselves by the strict standard of the cost-effective pay-off.

Keywords: Rational Choice; Cognitive Dissonance; Invisible Hand; Instrumental Rationality; Rational Capitalism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1999
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-333-98278-5_2

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.palgrave.com/9780333982785

DOI: 10.1057/9780333982785_2

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Palgrave Macmillan Books from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().