McDonald's Society

On:
Ritzer, G. “The McDonaldization of Society” pp. 371-379 in Sociological Odyssey:
Contemporary Readings in Sociology.

In this piece, Ritzer makes many parallels between the "rationalization" of American society and the infamous McDonald's, suggesting that "The model of rationalization, at least in contemporary America, is no longer the bureaucracy, but might be better thought of as the fast-food restaurant," (372). He elaborates on the characteristics of the so-called "rationalized" society: "efficiency, predictability, calculability, substitution of nonhuman for human technology, and control over uncertainty" (372). It's not surprising that our society has come to function similarly to a fast-food restaurant, since the two have evolved simultaneously and seem to play off of the values of one another.
Ritzer makes many connections that are fairly self explanatory and easily recognized in society- people want convenience, consistency (no surprises when it comes to their food or daily routine), technological advancements that lessen the personal work load, and an emphasis on quantity or quality. All of these traits can be seen put to work at a place like McDonald's. None of this is new to us.
He then goes on to mention the "irrationality of rationality"- the downside to the routine that we have found ourselves in. "Dehumanizing aspects" and "disenchantment...lives without any mystery or excitement" were among the downfalls, concluding that "a fully rational society would be a very bleak and uninteresting place" (378). (As of now it looks like we're headed in that direction). The kicker is that despite recognition of these problems, Ritzer does not suggest a return to "less rationalized" society, but the need for "greater control over the process of rationalization involving, among other things, efforts to ameliorate its irrational consequences" (379), suggesting that we're not controlling enough! Ironic.
I agree that a complete return to a earlier way of life is not reasonable, but I do think that there are valuable characteristics that have been lost in the population as a whole due to the dependence on this McDonald's way of living. However, I don't think that increased control is what will help to alleviate these consequences. Are there really more pros than cons when it comes to the fast-paced demanding way of life that we have come to know and depend on? Does it matter that we are slowly losing the "old" way of life where people cooked for themselves and could survive camping a night in the woods without electricity or running water? What can be done to keep society from becoming the "bleak and uninteresting place" that Ritzer predicts?