The Possibility for the Reversal of Rationalization

Sa？etak Rationalization is a defining feature of modern society. Max Weber developed the theory of rationalization, defining it as governing by economic calculation. As far as Weber was concerned, bureaucracy was a prime example thereof. A modern interpretation of rationalization was presented by George Ritzer, called McDonaldization, after a fast-food chain. Weber considered rationalization inevitable, and its evolution unstoppable. He was also afraid of the inescapable “iron cage”. Ritzer reduces the cage to personal experience, that also varies with each individual. The purpose of this paper is to find examples that indicate the possibility of resisting rationalization on a collective basis, and to examine if there is a tendency to do just that. Using Ritzer’s main principles of McDonaldization – efficiency, profitability, predictability, control – cases of Couchsurfing, Web 2.0 and ecovillage communities were analyzed. These examples indicate awareness of the rationalization process and the collective ability to affect its reversal. They do not, however, call rationalization itself into question, or the tendency for its relentless proliferation