Instrumentalize

Etymology

From "instrument" (Latin "instruere," to arrange, equip) plus the verb-forming "-ize." The philosophical charge comes largely from Kant, whose formula of humanity forbids treating people merely as means; to instrumentalize is exactly to violate that, converting a person into an instrument.

verb · /in-struh-MEN-tuh-lyz/
To treat a person or thing merely as a tool for achieving some other end.
What it names
A precise moral move — reducing someone to their usefulness — central to ethics, politics, and critiques of exploitation.
Example
Critics accused the campaign of instrumentalizing the grieving families, using their loss as a prop for policy.
Related idea
To instrumentalize is to treat a person only as a means to an end while ignoring their own ends; to respect someone’s autonomy is to honor them as an end in themselves — the two stand as direct moral opposites.