Situation as determinant of selection and valuation

This article investigates the proposition that situation is the determinant of selection and valuation. It investigates the ways in which various types of situation dictate selections and valuations and contrasts this process with the marginal model of economic theory. Rational and behavioural approaches to theory are compared. It is suggested that situation-related selection provides a more realistic account of consumer selection than neoclassical theory. The 'situations' that govern choice are seen as established through a process of 'support-bargaining', whereby individuals adjust their behaviour and opinions to gain the support of those around them. This process forms also the abstract 'situations' embodied in theories about the nature of the world and society. The individualism of neoclassical theory is displaced in the process of support-bargaining. The idea of support-bargaining focuses attention on the dependence of neoclassical theory on support to offset its fundamental faults. It is suggested that it be replaced with the theory of support-bargaining and associated situation-related selection. Copyright The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved., Oxford University Press.