Abstract
McDonaldization is usually seen as a ‘tragedy’ as humans become more rationalised in their everyday life, but from the view of Marx’s theory of historical change, I suggest that it might be seen as a ‘comedy’. As the world’s labour force becomes culturally the same it may finally gain an ironic awareness that is required for radical social change, thus, global rationalisation may create the conditions for a ‘global Proletariat’. The comedy of McDonaldization is that its repulsiveness as a way of life may actually lead to the possibility of achieving liberation from the domination of global capitalism.
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Luhman, J.T. Marx and McDonaldization: A Tropological Analysis. Philos. of Manag. 5, 17–23 (2005). https://doi.org/10.5840/pom20055219
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5840/pom20055219