Iron cage is a concept proposed by the Sociologist, Max Weber, and one of its first references is seen in his well-known work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. However, the word was never used by him directly as he always wrote in the German language. It was Talcott Parsons, who coined the term in 1930 when he translated Weber’s work. Weber used this term to highlight the increasing rationalisation intrinsic to social life, especially the western capitalist societies. It shows how individuals are trapped in systems or organisations which run of the principles of efficiency, rationality and control. The iron cage of rationality reflects the pressure that builds over us due to both others and ourselves to act and behave in certain ways. It is presented to us as if that is the only beneficial strategy for us.
In modern western societies, as organisations grow, they not only bring about changes in the relationships between the people working there but the relationship they have with the organisation. These modern organisations are characterised by rules and regulations which govern the behaviour of the people working in it. The people are required to show formal and impersonal behaviour and with the enlargement of these organisations, people alienated from each other. The specialisation is another characteristic. It is said that the larger the institution, the more specialised the people working in it need to become. These features of the modern organisations aim to achieve efficiency which consequently propels the concept of iron cage. Weber while explaining iron cage said that “modernisation creates hedonists without heart and specialists without spirit”.
The consumerist society is one where everything gets cheaper day by day due to newer models coming in. because of this rationalisation and the increase in products in the market, the pleasure of acquiring those things are reduced. In addition, with efficiency and specialisation in production, people producing those take less interest in making them wholeheartedly and feel disconnected from their work. They just become a part of the mechanical set up instead of being creative and different. Hence, the concept of an iron cage not only means being stuck in a job that is not liked by the doers. It also refers to the condition where things become so rational that enjoyment cannot be felt while doing them nor can a person add their personal values to the work. The people in the organisation feel trapped within it just like an iron cage.
Many social theorists and researchers embrace Weber’s idea about the iron cage. They believed that the development of capitalist production intensified the impact of this cage to shape and direct our thoughts and behaviour. The new global system that arose due to capitalism, technological innovations, and industrialisation are far from disintegrating in the near future. As society will progress more and more, this abstract cage will become more rigid, ordered, systematic, and dehumanised. Social scientists are also engaged to find solutions to the problems arising due to the influence of iron cage.
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