Max Weber's "The Bureaucratic Machine" was an interesting topic to discuss. It's crazy when you read ideas like Weber's and see how accurate it is in society today. Weber talks about how we live in this sort of "Bureaucratic Machine" where there is a sort of hierarchy where power flows down. When looking at this perspective in a workplace environment example, you can see how this hierarchy takes place. Another big point he makes is that there is "specialization" within the workforce. So I thought of it as when you call customer service and you usually won't talk to just one person...you will continually get transferred until the person with the correct "specialization" to your question can be reached. There also is the same set of procedures that everyone follows, that way there is a sense of uniformity.
In class we talked about how Weber uses the rationalization process to explain how living in a bureaucracy affects our human potential and basically limits us. I can see both sides, I guess. I think living in a bureaucratic state gives us a sense of security. Things usually go as planned. You're given a specific job. Everyone follows the same rules. There's a sense of continuity that we find comfort in.
But also on the other hand, I do feel like it limits us. For example, in our world today, you are expected to go to college, and it you want even more job security (as if that's a thing), you should go to grad school. I truly believe that college is not for everyone, academics are not what everyone is gifted in, and yet they have no choice because no employer will take them seriously without a diploma. I think you can even look at it as how we have gotten so lost in this machine that we are essentially machines ourselves. We see this when we see everyone walking with heads hung low and headphones turned up. We see this when we catch the glow of iPhones in movie theatres, and the buzz of a new text message in restaurants. It's sickening.
I feel like we are put through this sort of system that is supposed to make everything run more smoothly for us, but all it really does is smooth the lines that define us.
This is a spoken word poem by Marshall Davis Jones entitled "Touchscreen". This video is so powerful to me. He expresses so creatively how lost we get in this "machine", and really, how much this machine limits what we are as humans.
Great blog post. I really like the analogy you used to customer service and how we continually get connected to somebody new. Really great example. I think this really does show Weber concepts and theories on "The Bureaucratic Machine". I really enjoyed when you said, " I feel like we are put through this sort of system that is supposed to make everything run more smoothly for us, but all it really does is smooth the lines that define us." This is really spot on with how as a society we are steering further and further away from personal relationships, and are depending more and more on technology, and efficiency. I think you could have included more on how Weber uses the rationalization process to explain how living in a bureaucracy affects our lives. Other than that, very good blog post. I really enjoyed your video and what you all had to say.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really good post. I love how you tied in the video of the spoken word. It helps people relate to the topic so it isn't just something you hear about, it becomes personal. I really like how you said we basically get stuck in this machine. I think that is a really good way of putting it. Overall, great post!
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