Ritzer divides opinions on McDonaldization, or more generally rationalization, into three general categories:

1. The velvet cage–Some consider McDonaldization a ‘velvet cage’-we like some of the things that it produces. Predictability is often comforting–go with the restaurant you know, the food may not be great but you don’t think you’ll leave with botulism, salmonella, heartburn, or an empty wallet. Efficiency ‘saves time.’ Yes, it often means less choices for us, but who needs 17 different brands of toilet paper, right? Less choice means less complexity, and who needs all of that? And by the way, who’s making the choices for us? In a McDonaldized world, do we give up some of our freedom to make our own choices in the name of convenience?
2. The rubber cage–Okay, so McDonaldization isn’t the greatest thing since indoor plumbing (which is a pretty great thing, when you think about it). But, like a rubber cage, if we really want to, we can escape it. It’s there for those who like that sort of thing, but I can make my own choices and choose not to go to McDonald’s, right? I can choose where to shop–there are malls all over the place. True, they often all have the same shops in them. I can choose where to eat–restaurants everywhere. True, many of them are chains, but I don’t have to eat there. There are a few, such as the Mom N Pop Food Shop, or Sam’s Discount Meat-on-a-Stick, where I’m always welcome and there are no cattle chutes full of people waiting to order the same food. In fact, I hardly ever have to wait in line AT ALL–there’s almost nobody in there! It isn’t like McDonald’s where, as Yogi Berra once said, ‘nobody goes there anymore cuz it’s too crowded.’ And if I want to buy anything else, I can go to, well, WalMart. Or BiMart. Or MartMart. But I can avoid shopping there, too, can’t I? Almost everything they sell could be found somewhere else, for twice the price, if you’ve lived in La Grande all your life and know the streets like the back of your hand. How does WalMart do it? Everyday low pricing and sweatshop labor in Bangladesh at twenty cents an hour helps tremendously, as well as the most efficient distribution system in the cosmos. But I can leave this cage anytime I want to by merely pulling the bars apart. I can go hiking in the Wallowas, with my water pump, my North Face Burma double-wing-nut fast-release high-elevation backpack, my Kelty UltraLight N’ Gigantic K2 nylon tafetta tent, my Hi-Tec kevlar/goretex hiking boots with silicon suspension system, etc., and use a guidebook that tells me the difficulty rating on all of the trails I might want to take, right down to the water temperature at Glacier Lake on a Sunday in July (well, practically). I need those things. And I can say no if I want to.
3. The iron cage (this is what Max Weber called the bureaucracy and rationalization)–let’s face it, we’re trapped. Trapped like rats. It may look like a velvet cage to you, or a rubber cage, but can you really escape it? To go where?? To live out in the wilderness, in a cave? Better have your Caves of the Northwest Guidebook and Hermit living for Dummies guides. Improved genetically altered seeds from Monsanto to grow your own food, or an Internet connection to shop online (better have a nine-digit zip code. pal!). What do we do in our lives that isn’t more like a McDonald’s restaurant? Many of us work or aspire to work at jobs that are increasingly specialized and automated. There’s less room for advancement with our employers because we have so few skills. We can’t avoid going to stores where the employees say, on demand, ‘How should I know, I just work here.’ How can we avoid dealing with large bureaucracies? As society becomes ever more complex, how do we handle it without trying to rationalize everything? According to the publishing industry, I need books on how to do web pages, how to teach intro social problems classes, how to really understand the spiritual nature of the universe, how to communicate with my spouse and kids, etc. There’s just too much–help me, I need a special trainer to McDonaldize my life and help me cope! What did I just say?? I’ve become . . . Mc . . . McDonaldized!

Okay, I got carried away there. Obviously a bit of caricature in the above stereotypes. So please, let’s just leave the attorneys out of this one. They’re busy enough suing the fast food chains. But hopefully, you get the picture. Some enjoy McDonaldization. Ritzer says it’s a velvet cage for them. However probably not single mothers who have to work there to get any public assistance, and have few other job options, no retirement, few health benefits, etc., and risk getting fired or (worse) lectured by some sniveling teenage assistant manager (who’s got killer payments to make on the custom paint job he just got on his ’67 Barracuda) for not saying ‘would you like a Sausage McGriddleBiskit Basket with that order?’ to every customer that walks up to the counter. In other words, as we say about social problems, some people are harmed, but likely others are benefiting. Keep in mind from the above: the cages may look different, feel different, but they’re all cages. According to Ritzer.

Take the example of our politicians. More and more they’re reading scripts, can’t even think for themselves (or at least the consultants who manage them don’t want them to), and have to appeal to the most people possible so end up saying next to nothing about their views, instead criticizing their opponents, so that they can attract wealthy campaign donors and get elected without ever really telling the electorate anything about their intentions.