McDonalds R Us: Analysis of Modern Global Economy (Johnston, 2017)

McDonalds R Us How Has the Logic of the Modern Global Economy Organized Social Life? Discussion to accompany: Johnston, et al, 2017, Chapter 3, You Are What You Eat: Culture, Norms, and Values Leidner, “Over the Counter at McDonalds” (#43 in Henslin) Ehrenreich, “Nickel and Dimed” (#...

McDonalds R Us How Has the Logic of the Modern Global Economy Organized Social Life? Discussion to accompany: Johnston, et al, 2017, Chapter 3, You Are What You Eat: Culture, Norms, and Values Leidner, “Over the Counter at McDonalds” (#43 in Henslin) Ehrenreich, “Nickel and Dimed” (#36 in Henslin) Wishard, “Caught Between the Ages” (#46in Henslin) But First-- - Remaining discussion from Henslin reader (#24) In the article “Eating your Friends is the Hardest,” Henslin uses the case of the Andes Mountains plane crash (Flight F-227) to illustrate the stability of our norms, as well as the principles involved in the process of deviating from those norms. Central point: Norms are followed and rethought in social interaction. What is the norm that is violated in this case, and what are some of the new rules established? Symbolic Interactionism  Sociological Paradigm Micro-level of analysis (Individual-interactional level)  Central Proposition: - our world is SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED - We determine meaning through a social process - Meanings can change over time (WE can change them); changing circumstances can lead us to reconsider meanings and norms - This is the tricky part: someone has to introduce new ideas, and they are vulnerable to being singled out as “deviant.” It matters who comes up with it and how they introduce it. - Who was Canessa, and what did he do? - What were some of the new rules?  Key Concepts From Marx Re: Methods Wage Labor Ethnography Alienation Class From Weber Ideology Iron Cage Hegemony Rationalization From Ritzer (Weber) McDonaldization Central Question of this chapter: How has the expansion of the fast food industry affected workers?  Conflict Theory Meets Institutional Theory Who was Max Weber? - born 1864, Prussia (now Germany) Institutional Theorist - broadly within the conflict tradition - often writing in “dialogue” with Marx - Central concern: Modernization as a Process Marx was centrally concerned w/ Capitalist Exploitation and Conflict Weber was centrally concerned with the Iron Cage of Rationality Marx’s theory of capitalism:  Reminder: Capitalism is one type of economic system  Social Relations of Production under Capitalism: - Labor: the class of workers who sell their labor power on the market for a wage - Capital: the class of owners who buy labor- power as one of many inputs and who seek gain a profit  Structural Contradiction (and basis for class conflict) - Workers need a wage to survive higher wages  better living conditions - Capitalists need to make a profit higher profits  the more power  Marx’s analysis of the conditions facing wage labor  Wage labor The predominant form of work and production in industrialized societies / under capitalism (see page 55 in Johnston, et al) This point takes into account: - Work/production has historically (in agrarian societies) been located mostly in the home - Under capitalism, most people need wages to survive  Conditions facing wage labor (cont.)  Alienation (see Johnston, et al, p. 56) - The separation (“estrangement”) workers experience under industrial capitalism - Estrangement from our “species being” (from ourselves), from the work process, from the product, from our community, from other workers. How this Happens… Marx’s Theory of Alienation  Species being: Humans are creative by nature: We are naturally inclined to work (to produce) - for sustenance - for creative pleasure and purpose  The necessity of a wage takes control and ownership out of the creators’ hands. This process is alienation. - we don’t get to choose what to create - we don’t get to choose how to make it - we don’t even get to participate in the full creation of the product (Taylorism vs. Artisanship) - we don’t get to use what we create or to sell it for our own benefit Zero-Sum relationship between Labor  and Capital (exploitation) Profit = Price of good to consumer – Cost of production  In short, Profit = Price – Cost  What goes into the cost of a product?  Labor is one of the inputs to production (also raw materials; machinery, overhead of factory, etc.)  Capitalists have an interest in keeping wages low in order to keep profits high  Marx used the term Surplus Value instead of Profit  Weber’s Theory of Modernization  Contrast between Traditional society and Modern life  As societies grow, become more complex, and as the modern state begins to hold greater authority, Societies become more rationalized; The nation state is bureaucratized. Weber theorizes the typical characteristics of a Bureaucratic Organization  Elements of an “Ideal Type” Modern Bureaucracy  Bureaucracy: “the administrative bodies that emerged to do things like collect taxes, organize armies, provide health care, enforce the law, and other service.” (Johnston p. 68) Clear procedures (written rules) Formal Communication Hierarchy of position (organizational chart) Authority in the position, not the person This is a process of Rationalization  Iron Cage of Rationality Weber contends that—in a modern complex society—the organizing logic of rationality is a necessity. Benefits: Efficiency Costs: Efficiency can be inefficient Individuals lose AGENCY Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times (1936)  https://youtu.be/4fOIk0-igeE What does this have to do with fast food?  Is working at McDonalds like working on an assembly line?  McDonald’s employees: Alienated and Exploited? An ideology is “a set of beliefs, opinions, images, and attitudes that form a loose set of related ideas.” A dominant or hegemonic ideology is a set of beliefs, opinions, images, and attitudes that are designed to justify social relations of domination & exploitation The hegemonic ideology of low-paid labor in fast food. According to the fast-food industry: “Fast food workers don’t need high pay; most are teenagers and are working for “extra” spending money” McDonald’s employees: Alienated and Exploited? How old are most fast-food workers? BLS DATA, 2023: 16-19 39% Median Age: 22.1 20-24 30% 25 plus 31% Trending a bit younger than in 2012: 16-19 30% 20-24 30% 25 plus 40%  Do fast food workers earn a living wage? Short Answer: No Living Wage On average: $25.02 per hour (for a family of four) $17.75 per hour (for a single adult, no children) Fast-Food Pay On Average: $ 14.48 per hour IF full time: $ 30,110 per year Federal Minimum Wage: $7.25 per hour (some states have a higher minimum wage) Discussion Question: Are Fast-Food Workers Alienated (in the Marxian sense)?  George Ritzer The McDonaldization of Society  Ritzer coined the term to posit that the principles organizing the fast food industry and production are evident in more and more areas of social life.  This is an extension of Weber’s theory of bureaucratic rationalization.  McDonaldization: 4 organizing goals / characteristics  Efficiency  Predictability  Calculability  Control  Has the University become rationalized?  Using Ritzer model of McDonaldization, you will consider the extent to which UMW displays the characteristics of the fast food industry.