1 used to correct what you have just said -- plutôt
We were invited to a party, or rather two parties. Nous avons été invités à une soirée ou plutôt deux soirées.
2 instead of -- plutôt que
3 indicates what sb prefers -- aimerais/-ait/-ions/-iez/-aient mieux
4 to a certain extent; slightly; a little -- plutôt, un peu
5 more willingly; preferably -- plutôt (que)
I therefore find that criticism rather excessive.
It is a rather awkward situation.
This appears to me to be a rather non-specific choice of words.
However, a failure to take this analysis further would be rather simplistic.
Apart from anything else, it's often rather unsatisfactory to do so in the subjunctive.
It sounds rather old-fashioned, but economics is not a science.