it. I agree with Ritzers analysis of aMcdonaldized society, but I feel that Ritzer has failed to provide any real solutions to theMcdonaldization process. I will support Ritzers analysis of the Mcdonaldization process, butalso show that it is inevitable and essential in the American society to have a rationalizedsystem. Ritzer stresses that Mcdonaldization does not just refer to robotlike assembly offood. Rather, this process, occurring throughout society, is transforming our lives. In the1980s and 1990s Mcdonaldization has extended its reach into more and more regions ofsociety, and those areas are increasingly remote from the heart of the fast-food business(Ritzer, 137). Shopping malls are controlled environments of approved design, logo, colors,and opening and closing hours. For those people who wish to see Europe, a package tourrationalizes the package. People can efficiently see, in a rigidly controlled manner, manysights while traveling in conveyances, staying in hotels, and eating in fast-food restaurantsjust like those at home (Ritzer, 21). USA Today produces the same bland, instant news- inshort, unanalytic pieces that can be read between gulps of the Mcshake or the Mcburger. Isthis all bad? Not necessarily. Efficiency does bring reduced prices. But at a cost, a loss ofsomething difficult to define or quantify, a quality of life washed away by rationalization.When I travel, for example, had I taken a packaged tour, I never would have had theopportunity to have all the unique experiences that Ive had. However, the costs may be evensimpler than that. For example, just recently I was ordering food through the drive-thruduring lunch hour. The employee at the window was already stressed from trying to work toofast, gave me large cokes in a flimsy cardboard container. The coke went from the windowonto to my car seat. Later it was established that the lids werent even properly placed on theglasses. This is also and...
