Weber’s rationalization is fundamentally an acceleration of means-ends efficiency.

Evidence

In the context of a search for the starting points of a theory of social acceleration, however, it is above all interesting that for Weber too the Protestant-capitalist evaluation of time is part of an encompassing (and accelerating) historical movement, namely, the underlying Western processes of rationalization. Insofar as this process is rooted in shortening and enhancing the efficiency of means-ends relations in the sense of instrumental rationality, it can be described as an acceleration process that aims at the accelerated realization of ends through the minimization of the necessary steps or an increase in the effectiveness of the means employed. Rationalization in this sense means to be able to achieve more in less time (and with less input). But the increase of quantities per unit of time, as I will argue, is the most abstract and generalized definition of acceleration. It is this enhancement of speed that, according to Weber, characterizes the main Western forms of rational organization and domination—bureaucracy, a state under the rule of law (Rechtsstaat), and a capitalistic economic order—and also grounds their historical superiority over all other social formations. — Hartmut Rosa, Social Acceleration, 197

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines acceleration in its most abstract form: achieving more quantities per unit of time.
• XREF: Connects to the classical-theorists reading program in Rosa’s earlier chapters on Marx; also echoes the efficiency-rationality theme in Weber’s Protestant Ethic the reader has likely encountered. — connects to: Weber’s scheme routes all institutions from traditional to rationalized via charisma — Fredric Jameson, The Political Unconscious, 6131; Weber’s rationalization theory defines modernization as differentiation plus instrumental rationality — Alex Callinicos, Against Postmodernism: A Marxist…, 153; Habermas refined Weber and Marcuse on how technical rationality becomes a total life-form. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2695

Broader Connections

• Weber’s scheme routes all institutions from traditional to rationalized via charisma #qualifies (0.80) — Fredric Jameson, The Political Unconscious, 6131
• Weber’s rationalization theory defines modernization as differentiation plus instrumental rationality #expands (0.80) — Alex Callinicos, Against Postmodernism, 153
• Habermas refined Weber and Marcuse on how technical rationality becomes a total life-form. #responds-to (0.70) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2695