The victory of instrumental reason and farewell to variety

In this book the sociologist Amirhosein Khandizaji introduces the notion of variety as one of the most important human needs. Throughout history, the need for variety faced two tragedies and, as a result, has never been completely satisfied. The first tragedy occurred in traditional societies in which, although new and different phenomena were available, because of strict rules and taboos, people were not allowed to experience them. The second tragedy is happening in today’s world. Now people are free to experience new phenomena. But because of the domination of instrumental reason in all aspects of life and the growth of standardization and repetition, there are not many new or different phenomena to be experienced. This book also discusses the theories of Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Herbert Marcuse, and George Ritzer as they are the commentators on the age of standardization and repetition. In the opinion of the author, Ritzer thoroughly explains the age of repetition in his famous theory, “McDonaldization of Society.” The author presents two discussions about McDonaldization of sociology and McDonaldization in semi-modern countries. He also explains postmodernism, which, according to the view of this book, is the result of standardization and repetition and is also an attempt to satisfy the need for variety by rejecting or criticizing the foundation and principles of modernism.