Chapter 10 Overview

This chapter introduced you to the research behind the debate over the rise of rationality in society, the reasons for its rise, and the consequences of it for societies across the planet. Weber believed it was the disenchantment of the world with religion that led to its weakening influence in society and the rise of rationalization, a process of problem-solving Weber saw extending into nearly every facet of modern society. Rationalization is a way of solving problems based on the factors of predictability, calculability, efficiency, and control.

Weber described bureaucracies as the prototype for rationalization, an organizational form built on hierarchies, vertical chains of command, a clear division of labour, technical qualifications, impersonal decision-making, and the efforts of full-time, salaried staffing. The downside of rationalization, or the irrationality of rationality identified by Weber, was that these supposedly rational systems such as bureaucracies sometimes produce negative outcomes for all involved.

The rise of rationalization coincided with an increasing complexity in the division of labour in human societies, which means the specialization of labour into simple, specific, and distinct tasks. This ability to reduce the labour process to its simplest components, a process taken to its limits by scientific management, leads to the alienation of the worker according to Karl Marx. Rationalization in the labour market has also led to precarious working conditions throughout society, but especially for workers in the tertiary sector of the economy, or the retail and service sector. Not only are they precariously employed, but these workers also do the most emotional labour in their work, which requires employees to manage their emotions for the benefits of customers.