Rationality Hegemony

The cultural dominance of a specific model of rationality—typically means-end calculation, utility maximization, and consistent preference ordering—as the only legitimate standard for sane, competent decision-making. Rationality hegemony operates when economic models of rational choice become the measure of all human behavior, when anyone who makes decisions differently is pathologized as "irrational," and when alternative frameworks for good decision-making (based on virtue, relationship, tradition, or spiritual insight) are simply invisible. It's the assumption that Homo economicus isn't a model but a description of how humans should be.

Example: "His decision to care for his aging parents instead of taking the high-paying job was treated as 'economically irrational'—a perfect example of rationality hegemony mistaking one model of choice for the only model."

Rationality Hegemony by Dumu The Void March 12, 2026