The Weberian Theory of Rationalization and the McDonaldization.pdfVIP

02-45282-kivisto.qxd 6/30/2007 10:58 AM Page 41 CHAPTER 2 The Weberian Theory of Rationalization and the McDonaldization of Contemporary Society George Ritzer George Ritzer is Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland. His major areas of interest are sociological theory, globalization, and the sociology of consumption. He has served as chair of the American Sociological Association’s sections on theory (1989–1990) and organizations and occupations (1980–1981). He has been a distinguished scholar-teacher at the University of Maryland and has been awarded a teaching excellence award. He has held the UNESCO chair in social theory at the Russian Academy of Sciences and has received a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship. He has been a scholar-in-residence at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study and the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study in the Social Sciences. A revised New Century edition of The McDonaldization of Society was published by Pine Forge in 2004. The book has been translated into 16 different languages, including German, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese. Several books have been published that are devoted to analyzing the McDonaldization thesis. His most recent book is The Globalization of Nothing (Sage, 2004). n this chapter, I apply one of the most famous and important theories in the history of sociology, Max Weber’s (1864–1920) theory of rationalization, to I contemporary society.