Value in Design: Neoliberalism versus Pragmatism

Abstract

This article contrasts two radically different approaches to valuation—neoliberal and pragmatic—using each frame to consider value in design. Neoliberalism is outcomes-focused, maximizing value through different but commensurable forms, which are aggregated and ranked using a common denominator for the purposes of competition. Pragmatism is process-focused, with a variety of values negotiated and configured through valuation inquiries in context-specific ways. This article argues that, in line with pragmatism and in contrast to neoliberalism, design practice is based on diverse value orientations through a material and temporal process shaped in accordance with different purposes. The argument suggests that the way valuation is performed in design is an alternative to the reductive but dominant neoliberal approach. This prompts consideration of the “performative agency” concept—that design practice can transform how valuation is carried out, presenting and sustaining an alternative model.