instrumental rationality

is a form of rationality that emphasizes efficiency rather than consistency, and sees desire in terms of goals rather than preferences. While useful in politics and economics, it falls short in analyzing consumer decisions, which are grounded in preferences.

Weber's notion of instrumental rationality emphasises efficiency rather than consistency . . . [H]e interprets 'desires' as 'goals' rather than 'preferences'. Although this approach makes good sense for the analysis of economic and political decisions, it is less suitable for consumer decisions. In modern economic theory, utility is not some kind of substantive objective function analogous to profits that the consumer tries to maximise. Utility is simply shorthand for preferences, and rationality means nothing more than the choice of the most preferred option in the feasibility set, subject to consistency constraints' (Elster 2000: 36).

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