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Sociology

McDonaldization and the Rationalization of Everyday Life

Quick fact

Sociologist George Ritzer coined the term 'McDonaldization' to describe the process by which the principles of fast-food restaurants—efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control—have come to dominate more and more sectors of American society and the rest of the world, leading to what he calls the 'irrationality of rationality.'

Why this is interesting

You stroll into a fast-food restaurant and in under two minutes you have a uniform burger, even in a city you've never visited. How did this become the model for everything from universities to hospitals?