In sociology, the iron cage is a concept introduced by Max Weber to describe the increased rationalization inherent in social life, particularly in Western capitalist societies. The "iron cage" thus traps individuals in systems based purely on teleological efficiency, rational calculation and control. Weber also described the bureaucratization of social order as "the polar night of icy darkness". The original German term is stahlhartes Gehäuse (steel-hard casing); this was translated into "iron cage", an expression made familiar to English-speakers by Talcott Parsons in his 1930 translation of Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. This choice has been questioned recently by scholars who prefer the more direct translation: "shell as hard as steel". Weber (in Parsons' translation) wrote: Iron cage of capitalism In his famous 1904 work on The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Weber concludes by invoking an "iron cage." His meaning can best be understood by quoting the relevant paragraph: Our modern market-dominated economic order was created by innovative, disciplined, religiously motivated economic action, says Weber. But the individual today can no longer engage in such creative action. Instead we are condemned to work for a living, often in narrowly defined specializations. And economic enterprises must continually strive to maximize profits and rationalize their production for the sake of efficiency or else fail. This is the present-day iron cage of institutionalized capitalism. Weber presents his argument in an ironic form. Religion of a particular sort was necessary to revolutionize the economy and the world. A protestant ethic drove the reorganization of traditional economic life to become a calculating efficient system. But now such religious views are no longer needed to sustain capitalism. Moreover, the systematic efficient calculations of capitalism help propel the secularization of the world and the decline in religious belief. "The course of development," Weber argues, "involves... the bringing in of calculation into the traditional brotherhood, displacing the old religious relationship." Effects of bureaucracies Positive contributions Bureaucracies were distinct from the feudal system and patrimonialism where people were promoted on the basis of personal relationships. In bureaucracies, there was a set of rules that are clearly defined and promotion through technical qualifications, seniority and disciplinary control. Weber believes that this influenced modern society and how we operate today, especially politically. Bureaucratic formalism is often connected to Weber's metaphor of the iron cage because the bureaucracy is the greatest expression of rationality. Weber