Counterproductive Rationality

Abstract

A rational decision can be defined as one that maximizes the utility of projected possible outcomes, given on some cardinal scale. Accordingly, in business practice, the "bottom line" becomes the surest indicator of the quality of decisions. This criterion is readily transferred to other fields, for instance, design of military strategy, methods of influencing mass behavior (propaganda, advertising), and so on. The "counterproductiveness" of such practices from the point of view of society as a whole is often evident. The theory of games has brought out the paradox even more dramatically, through so-called "dilemma" games (models of frequently occurring real life situations), in which each "player" acts "rationally," but where the outcome is worse for all concerned, including the "rationally" acting decision maker.