Nuclear McDonaldization and Familial Bureaucracy
George Ritzer's book, "The McDonaldization of Society," explains McDonaldization as "the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world"(1). This concept, at its core seeking to organize and increase productivity and profit, can now be linked to innumerable ripples blanketing our society with a range of effects, which are as controversial as they are widespread. The convenience offered by McDonaldization seems to have surreptitiously tiptoed into the homes of families, creating a new dimension for family bureaucracies in today's society. Divorce rates are up, child support is low, and an increasing number of children are growing up in broken families. With the ever-quickening revolution from hard work to the easiest and fastest way to get things accomplished, how long before children do not even know their parents, and instead are sent away at birth to begin training? It is important for people to realize that, while restaurants and other major distributors can afford to take shortcuts for increased profit and efficiency, relationships with other people rarely withstand such a luxury.
This way of living was dehumanizing as well: switching houses every other weekend, visiting my father and to have him adopt Ticky's daughter and leave us to do whatever we wanted while they all went shopping for her new car. And little can be said for Jonathan, my mother's husband, who is either too frightened to be a real part of the family or just does not care. s would recognize one another across the state, often addressing others as, "Bensons of This Town," or the "Eatons from That Town." With the invention of the automobile and the growing railroad lines, it was easier for travel and relocation. By the 1950's, people were most familiar with the people living in their vicinity, colleagues, or classmates. Still, the dilution of personal relationships has become most recognizable in the last twenty years. My parents don't even know their next-door neighbors, and I barely see my father. An increasing number of children today live with one working parent, leaving little time to form a strong relationship. Also in the past, parents having problems would try to work it out, or stay together regardless, just for the sake of their offspring. In my Neo-family, the parents are divorced. This in itself changed t
Some common words found in the essay are:
Similar McDonaldization, McDonaldization Society, Eatons Town, George Ritzer's, personal relationships, relationships people, increasing children, life parents, child support,
Approximate Word count = 825
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
