You left out the rest of the sentence from that article: "and achieve outcomes that are aligned with their own personal objectives." Also, your paraphrase left out the reference to "calculations."

Obviously, using "rational" in a definition of "rational" isn't helpful, but the emphasis might be on "calculations," which implies logic, consistency, and so on. And the next sentence adds to the conception: "These results are also associated with maximizing an individual's self-interest."

The alternative to rational choice theory is cognitive science which depicts us as more emotional, intuitive, and reactive than calculating. So it's the mainstream economists who are imposing an understanding of rationality onto their subjects. Maybe that model is helpful in making predictions, or maybe it's helpful as ideology/propaganda for American-style capitalism. Who benefits most from the model of Homo economicus? But we've been over that before.

I'm a little tired of our debate, I'm afraid. It wasn't proceeding in good faith, and we were repeating ourselves. But I appreciate the thorough criticisms.