Value rational action

From Geography

Imagine the following situation. Bicycle company 'Giant' produces top of the line track cycles. The cycles mainly maintain the fabric: carbon. The raw material is bought and transported out of Nigeria. The board of the company discovers that the workers of the company in Nigeria receive an extreme low wage per hour. Although the price for the raw material strongly increases, the board of Giant decides to find another supplier of carbon known for having a better working environment and for paying higher wages. Because of the new investments for the carbon company a lot of new jobs are created and the workers from the former company are able to get a new job with an higher income.

Rationality was the guiding thread of [[[Max Weber]]] his work (Gregory et al., 2009, p57). Weber felt that rationality hasn't in any way advanced human well-being (Gregory et al., 2009). Max Weber's concept of 'value rational action' is part of the broader conceptWeber's theory of man where Max Weber outlines his characterization of four types of human action. The second of the four types of human action is: value rational action.

Value rational action states that this form of human action is based and goal-oriented on the value of the activity in question. Both the goal and the means to reach the goal are determined by values. Weber states that in all rational human actions, value is an underlying element because rational action always implies a choice of value made by the agent (Campbell, 1981).

The situation described above gives an example of having a value rational goal and reaching the goals with value rational means. The board of Giant could choose to produce bicycles for an lower cost price but they decide to move their supply market to another place known for the better working environment. The board also recognises the problems for the workers in the factory where many jobs disappear and they try to give the workers and alternative job. When such an action is made out of values it is called: 'value rational action' following Max Weber.

Used sources:

Campbell, T., (1981). Seven Theories of Human Society. Oxford: Claredon Press.

Gregory, D., Johnston, R., Pratt, G., Watts, M. & Whatmore, S., (2009). The Dictionary of Human Geography, 5th edition. London: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing.

Created by Evelien de Beer and Richard Huttinga