Has Rationalization Become Irrational?

In "The McDonaldization of Society," George Ritzer defines rationalization and demonstrates how it is impacting American society. He states that "a society characterized by rationality is one which emphasizes efficiency, predictability, calculability, substitution of nonhuman for human technology, and control over uncertainty" (372). Efficiency has become an important part of American society and is demonstrated through the food that Americans eat. Home-cooked meals are no longer widespread due to the availability and efficiency of "TV dinners", frozen, packaged meals, and fast food restaurants. Predictability is another component of a rational society - people tend to dislike surprises and would prefer to have consistency with their food. Calculability is another term for quantity that defines rationalization. Sometimes, it is very difficult to assess quality, so people switch to quantitative measurements. This becomes a problem in the food industry, because companies care more about the quantity of food produced and ignore the more important component - quality. Because of the desire for efficiency, fast food restaurants have become assembly lines. Every worker learns a simple task to perform repeatedly. Since the task is very simple, we can substitute robots to take the places of humans, putting many people out of work. Finally, large corporations like McDonald's exercise control over their employees and their customers with the way food is prepared and served. Ritzer ends by stating that "rational systems are not reasonable systems."


I agree with the points Ritzer makes in "The McDonaldization of Society." He states that rationalization dehumanizes society, which can be seen through all his examples. People are eating prepackaged, predictable food, instead of making their own food creations. They are eating food that is all the same, tastes the same, and looks the same - all lacking in quality. Food chains have become assembly lines, workers have essentially become robots, and corporations are controlling all of this. Rationalization has forced us to live bland lives in which everything is the same or predictable. Of course, it has benefited our society, but it may have reached the point of irrationality. What can we do to reduce the negative impact that rationalization has on society? Do you think that rationalization is reasonable? Do you think it will last for a long time?