Scientific Viewpoints on the Rational Choice Theory

Rational Choice Theory (hereafter, RCT) is a generic theory of microeconomics which became popular through the 1950s to 1990s in social sciences, including political science and sociology, as a tool for scientific analysis. This paper examines the scientific viewpoints on RCT to show why proponents of RCT, both economists and other social scientists, regarded that the RCT was a vigorous theory to examine other research subjects in social science. To investigate this, I scrutinize the viewpoints of both economist\u27s statements as exporters of RCT and peripheral social scientist\u27s statements as importers. As an exporter, G. S. Becker - an economist at the Chicago School of Economics - insisted on the strength of economic theory as a general theory and called it <economic imperialism,< which meant a penetrating influence over social science. This includes the idea that economics is the closest to physical science, as an exact and scientifically testable theory. Furthermore, importers shared the same idea. J. S. Coleman acknowledged Becker\u27s positive contribution to RCT in sociology. Although D. P. Green and I. Shapiro in political science are crucial against RCT, they also suggested that RCT be empirically tested. To conclude, these scientific outlooks by both importers and exporters promoted the application of RCT