Fries with that degree? Understanding the McDonaldization of higher education

Abstract

After four decades, Ritzer's metaphor of ‘McDonaldization’ remains a popular way of understanding the stifling bureaucratization and consequent dearth of creativity and critical thought in universities across the globe. But if Ritzer's original characterization of the dehumanizing, factory-like, computer-controlled university was a sufficient and convincing explanation higher education would have taken note and changed. The metaphor would then be redundant. What keeps the McDonaldization metaphor going is an ingredient Ritzer neglected – the therapeutic turn in higher education. The therapeutic turn may seem new and separate from McDonaldization, but it is a powerful complementary force without which students would not be ‘lovin it’ at university.