The Sociology Book

42

intangible, mystical side of many
people’s day-to-day lives was
replaced by cold calculation.
Weber recognized the positive
changes brought about by
increased knowledge, and the
prosperity that resulted from logical
decision-making rather than the
dictates of outdated religious
authorities. But rationalization was
also changing the administration
of society by increasing the level
of bureaucracy in all kinds of
organizations. Having been
brought up in Prussia, where well-
established military efficiency
became the model for the newly
industrialized state, this
development would have been
especially noticeable to Weber.
Bureaucracy, Weber believed,
was both inevitable and necessary
in modern industrial society. Its
machinelike effectiveness and
efficiency is what enables society
to prosper economically, which
meant its growth in scope and

power was apparently unstoppable.

However, whereas the eclipse

of religion meant that people were

liberated from irrational social

norms, a bureaucratic structure

imposed a new form of control

and threatened to stifle the very

individualism that had led people

to reject dogmatic religious

authority. Many members of

modern society now felt trapped by

the rigid rules of bureaucracy, as if

in an “iron cage” of rationalization.

Moreover, bureaucracies tend to

produce hierarchical organizations

that are impersonal, and with

standardized procedures that

overrule individualism.

Dehumanization

Weber was concerned with these

effects on the individual “cogs in

the machine." Capitalism, which

had promised a technological

utopia with the individual at its

heart, had instead created a society

dominated by work and money,

MAX WEBER

overseen by an uncompromising

bureaucracy. A rigid, rule-based

society not only tends to restrict

the individual, but also has a

dehumanizing effect, making

people feel as though they are at

the mercy of a logical but godless

system. The power and authority of

a rational bureaucracy also affects

the relationships and interactions

of individuals—their social actions.

These actions are no longer based

on ties of family or community, nor

traditional values and beliefs, but

are geared toward efficiency and

the achievement of specific goals.

Because the primary goal of

rationalization is to get things

done efficiently, the desires of the

individual are subservient to the

goals of the organization, leading

to a loss of individual autonomy.

Although there is a greater degree

of interdependence between people

as jobs become more and more

specialized, individuals feel that

The German Chancellery in Berlin

is the headquarters of the German

government. The civil servants who

work there are a bureaucracy tasked

with implementing government policy.

The fully developed

bureaucratic apparatus

compares with other

organizations exactly as

does the machine with

the non-mechanical

modes of production.

Max Weber