SOA 1061st Edition Lecture 29Outline of Last Lecture I. Status and Pay DifferentialsII. Sex InequalityIII. Rape as a Form of Social ControlIV. Politics as an InstitutionV. Dimensions of PowerVI. Political Ideological SpectrumVII. Structure of US Political SystemOutline of Current Lecture II. Where Have We Been? Where Are We Going?III. Social ChangeIV. Causes of Social ChangeV. The “McDonaldization of Society”Current LectureWhere Have We Been? Where Are We Going?I. Constructing social realityA. cultureB. socialization and social controlII. Maintaining social realityA. the social structure and social institutionsB. implications of structure and social inequalityIII. Changing social realityA. globalizationB. social movementsSocial Change● “Changes arent permanent, but change is” - Rush● Social change-- the transformation over time of the institutions and culture of society● Social change is the rule, not the exception○ societies are always changing-- human beings are constantly dying and repopulating and that brings about change● Changes is rarely under complete control (intended and unintended consequences)○ cell phones are great advancements but now people are always on the phone. It is changing how we interact with each other, we now have less deep relationships than generations before us. Cell phones have also lead to more fatalities due to texting and driving● Occurs on micro and macro levels○ macro= social media○ micro= individualCauses of Social Change● Environmental and population pressures○ natural disasters; changing food supplies● Cultural and technological innovations○ cars, cell phones, medical treatments○ changes the way we live, how we get around our world○ keeping people alive longer● Social movements○ civil rights movement, women's rights movementThe “McDonaldization of Society”● Rationalization: from bureaucracy to fast food● Max Weber viewed bureaucracy as the quintessential feature of the process of rationalization● Rationalization-- the historical development of institutional order such as the law, market, capitalism, and the state. Organized by impersonal and amoral principles that facilitate the instrumental pursuit of means and ends.○ as societies grow they become more organized around the pursuit of means and ends● amoral-- absence of morals● Rational society -- a society that emphasized efficiency, predictability, calculability, substitution of nonhuman for human technology and control over uncertainty.● As societies continue to modernize we become more bureaucratic● George Ritzer argues …○ in modern society the model of rationalization is the fast food restaurant○ that rationality has irrational consequences○ irrational= no reason/ doesn't make sense○ nonrational= no means and ends calculation; absence of rationality● Features of a rational society○ efficiency○ predictability○ calculability○ nonhuman technology and automation○ control over
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