Weber’s formal rationality blinds judgement to the worth of means
Evidence
It is precisely the example of the SS, however, which shows to what degree the formal concept of rationality, imputed by Weber and restricted to an ends-means relationship, impedes judgement on the rationality of means. — Theodor W. Adorno, The Culture Industry, 151
Categorization
Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims
- XREF: This critique of means-ends rationality is the hinge Adorno later uses for the culture industry’s own means-rationality; the reader needs it to test where a contemporary artifact is means- but not ends-rational.
Related
- Modernization shifts conduct from tradition to means-ends calculation (similarity 0.80)
- Culture’s reason emerges only by deviating from prevailing rationality. (similarity 0.79)