Rationality theorem
Encyclopedia
The rationality theorem is a theory introduced by political scientist Graham Allison in his book Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis
.
Allison defined the rationality theorem like this:
He used the theorem to attack any social science analysis that assumes a measure of rationality on the part of the actors.
Essence of Decision
Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis is an analysis, by political scientist Graham T. Allison, of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Allison used the crisis as a case study for future studies into governmental decision-making. The book became the founding study of the John F...
.
Allison defined the rationality theorem like this:
- There exists no pattern of activity for which an imaginative analyst cannot write a large number of objective functions such that the pattern of activity maximizes each function.
He used the theorem to attack any social science analysis that assumes a measure of rationality on the part of the actors.