Using the conceptual framework of Weber, assess a contemporary media issue by exploring the concept of bureaucracy and rationalization.

Authors Avatar by sc_sandraszehwui (student)

Student Reference Number: 33218243

Intellectual Foundations of Social Theory

Using the conceptual framework of Weber, assess a contemporary media issue by exploring the concept of bureaucracy and rationalization.

        Modern technologies may come across as interesting or 'life-changing'. However, with a thorough analysis on what comes across as 'life-changing' may be 'life-dominating' in actuality. To further discuss this phenomenon, I would like to utilise Weber's theory on bureaucracy and rationalization to show how the government is rationalising irregular aspects of society through technology into a social norm, thus reinforcing the bureaucratic mechanics in society to maintain a social order. I would like to use 'Pay Touch & Facebook Presence systems', a recently developed technology used in Spain, as a media example to support and illustrate my argument.

        In Weber's articles that were published in 1904 and 1905 entitled “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”, he defined bureaucracy or “The Bureaucratic Machine” as, “the means of carrying “community action” over into rationally ordered “societal action” ”(Lemert, 2004, p109). In other words, the process of rationalization is being put in place to moderate the action of an individual to conform to a highly rationalized indestructible bureaucratic system of a society. For example, contemporary technologies such as the 'Pay Touch system', whereby purchasing goods and services with fingerprints is made possible, accentuates the bureaucratic 'Iron Cage' as Weber puts it, that we live in by producing a phantasmal belief to how 'Pay Touch' is more efficient, reliable and time-saving. In actuality, by providing a personal asset such as biometrics allows the system to keep people under close surveillance and achieve great beneficial gain not just in relation of power, but also in terms of capital and domination, thus creating a “rationally ordered system” (Lemert, 2004, p110).

Join now!

According to Weber (Giddens, 1971, p131), “rationalisation of economic life characteristics of modern capitalism connects with irrational value-commitments”. To illustrate this argument, 'Pay Touch system' epitomizes the “irrational value-commitments” mentioned, as their tagline “because you are unique” shows irrationality in a rational system because something as personal as biometrics are being exploited and used as a mode of production for capitalism. The word “Unique” in the tagline is very controversial in such a system considering the ‘uniqueness’ of our individuality and private assets have been made attainable and exploited for their beneficial gain. Again, this reflects the “iron cage” that ...

This is a preview of the whole essay