What does rationality mean in sociology

Formal rationality is a broader form of rationality that characterizes organizations, especially bureaucratic ones. This leads to "universally applied rules, laws and regulations that characterize formal rationality in the West Rational-legal forms of authority such as the contemporary legal and judicial systems are examples of formal rationality. Weber notes that formal rationality developed as capitalistic forms of organizations emerged and its expansion is associated with the development of formal organizations and methods.

This formal rationality, and the organizational features associated with them, tend to crowd out other forms of rationality and limit the possibilities of creative social action.

Weber argues that capitalism is a rational system in the sense of being calculating, efficient, reducing uncertainty, increasing predictability, and using increasing amounts of non-human technologies. Accompanying the development of capitalism has been a decline of magic and religion, and there has been increased secularization. Weber notes that there are several preconditions that must be established before capitalist methods can become dominant. In order for capitalism to work, it is necessary to have a means by which a balance can be created, where various possible alternative lines of action can be considered, and where decisions can be made concerning how to organize production so that the balance at the end exceeds the balance at the beginning.

Weber lists six factors that he considers essential to the development of capitalist techniques see Hadden, p. Note how each of these can be connected to the development of formal rationality. The appropriation of all physical means of production as disposable property. This provides the possibility that the resources necessary for production can be bought and sold on a market. Where land or resources are not available as private property, or where they are subject to traditional uses, it is not possible to compute the costs of production.

In earlier societies land may have been held in common or by feudal lords, making them unavailable for capital accumulation, thus retarding the development of capitalism. Market Freedom. Limits to the development of markets, such as traditional rights and barriers to trade, restricted the possibility of the development of capitalistic methods, and limited their application geographically.

Chances for expansion and a wider development of trade and markets are thwarted. Weber notes how status groups or class monopolies may result in such restrictions. Rational Technology. Mechanization and other forms of rational technology allow methods to be more efficiently organized and costs to be reasonably accurately computed.

Where handicraft and other traditional forms of production dominate, costs of production vary and predicting profits is difficult. In these circumstances, conditions of production may be different from region to region and this can retard the application of uniform methods. Calculable Law. This means fewer arbitrary rules and laws which can be applied to some and not to others, with limited special favours.

This permits for the administration of law and justice to be understood and implies fewer arbitrary or unforeseen developments. Free Labour Markets. These permit employers to obtain the labour required for enterprises and they also mean that labour costs can be reasonably accurately determined.

That is, the employer makes an agreement before the production process, concerning how much is to be paid for how much labour, and has some certainty concerning what will be produced from this labour. While Weber notes that the whip of hunger may be essential for this, "rational capitalistic calculation is possible only on the basis of free labour" Giddens and Held, p. Commercialization of Economic Life. This is a development which allows capitalistic methods to be pursued on a more widespread basis using economic means such bonds, shares, finance, banking, and stock markets.

These permit capital to be more mobile and allow owners of capital to pursue maximum profits in any commercialized area. This leads to the progress of capital in all areas of economic life, and promotes the development of market mechanisms.

In order for the modern corporate form to emerge and become dominant, these features had to become well developed. Capitalistic enterprises initially begin as businesses under individual or family control but there is a strong tendency to develop a bureaucratic form of management in order for the company to continue past the lifetime of the individual entrepreneur and survive in competitive markets. The separation of ownership from management developed in most corporations, and this separation promotes the increased rationality of the capitalistic corporation.

In summary, Weber had mixed view on the development of capitalism and western forms of formal rationality. One the one hand, they created the possibility for the development of modern, western society, with its wealth and efficient forms of economic and social organization. The development of formal rationality was necessary for modern economic life and corporate organization to emerge and become successful.

At the same time, Weber feared that formal rationality, associated with organizations, bureaucrats, and capitalists would come to dominate in Western society. The autonomous and free individual, one whose actions had continuity by reference to ultimate values, would be less able to exercise his or her substantive rationality Ritzer, p.

Many areas of life and social action, as well as organizations, would become dominated by rationality and rationalism, according to Weber. Whether this would also create a rational society as a whole is not so clear.

The irrationality of the market, and the unplanned nature of social organization may mean that there is no tendency toward overall rationality. It may have been that Weber hoped that there would be enough different sectors of life that were not tied together by an overall rationality, that formal rationality would not govern the whole system.

Charismatic individuals, social movements, and forms of countervailing power are approaches that Weber might have encouraged. Perhaps such a rationality would emerge in a socialist system, as both the economy and society became more and more under the control of the same authority. Weber looked on this rationality as further reducing human freedom. Sugar free make things sweet without adding bad or extra calories, such calories which can cause harm to body: habit of drinking sweet tea and taking sweets are not; moreover other examples include taking cholesterol-free diet and using cell phones in place of using bird, moreover developed and better communication techniques and transport facilities are brought in use in order to support rational thinking.

As Weber explained: if an individual has identified a valued goal and have decided his efficient and convenient way or action in order to achieve it, it might be possible for him, to reach the goal a bit slowly. Max Weber was the first one to introduce the concept of Rationalization of Society. This notion is particularly related with :.

Rationalization is more often recognized as the result of scientific efforts which can be seen more commonly among the members of the society only by reducing the hold of traditions on the citizens. The human conscious which is led by rationalization instils the understanding that we are guided by reason and practicality.

This helps in transforming the environment into a modern society and leads to a firm establishment of capitalism. Initially, rationalization was seen along with the bureaucracies, has now established its roots in all the parts of the society. It refers to understanding and then deciding the best possible way to achieve something based on what is practical. It refers to the selection of the best possible means in order to make the system compatible with other systems.

It refers to making decisions with the help of and under the guidance of universal laws, larger social structure of the society and the regulations which are enforced with rigidity and quantifiable methods.

It has also led to the development of bureaucracy. It refers to understanding the society, the environment and particularly the world around us with the sole help of abstract concepts. Given certain substantive conditions—such as legal formalism, separation of employees from the means of production and administration, free labour, and a system of property rights—formal rationality refers to the calculability of means and procedures, substantive rationality to the value of ends or outcomes.

The two are in constant tension, in so far as social action is oriented to ends, beliefs, and value commitment Access to the complete content on Oxford Reference requires a subscription or purchase.

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