Mcdonaldization Of Society Summary

Imagine the world 50 years ago. Now think about it 40 years ago, 30, 20, and 10, then today. When these changes are examined, they may seem like a gradual shift, but none are as drastic as the shift that has most recently occurred. Ideas like this are explored in The McDonaldization of Society by George Ritzer. It is also discussed how alongside the innovations that have erupted so rapidly, society has changed and generally become more “McDonaldized” in all aspects.
In The McDonaldization of Society, George Ritzer discusses the ideas that made McDonalds so successful. It is these same aspects that control society now. Ranging from areas like healthcare and education to lawmaking and media, the idea of McDonaldization can apply to various institutions. It can also create new areas of society that rise as a result of McDonaldization. The factors that Ritzer so extensively talks about are efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control. Rather than merely discussing the factors that define the idea of McDonaldization in a way that only

In order for success to have occurred, there needs to be control or purposeful actions from both the system and those who use the system. Ritzer (2015) also explains how, in terms of McDonalds, control is maintained over employees through rules and customers through several, subtle hints (p. 89).
Finally, the concept of the irrationality of rationality is always stressed by Ritzer whenever discussing how the McDonaldization of a system takes place in order for it to be successful, while also having disadvantages. “We must look at McDonaldization as both ‘enabling’ and ‘constraining.’” (Ritzer, 2015, p. 17). It’s claimed that even a rational system will create irrationalities as a byproduct. This is then exemplified throughout the book as Ritzer explains this idea by providing examples of perfectly rational systems that were so irrational such as the