Resisting McDonaldization
1st Edition
Published on 16. April 1999
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-0-7619-5518-4 (ISBN)
Description
George Ritzer's McDonaldization thesis argued that contemporary life is succumbing to the standardization, flexibility and practicability of fast-food service. This book brings together specially commissioned papers by leading social and cultural analysts to engage in a critical appraisal of the thesis.
The contributors discuss the roots of the thesis, the rationalization of late modern life, the effects of increasing cultural commodification, the continuing prominence of American cultural and economic imperialism and the impact of globalization on social and cultural life. The strengths and weaknesses of the McDonaldization thesis are clearly evaluated and the irrational consequences of rationalization are pinpointed and critically developed. The book enlarges our understanding of how everyday life is structured by new standards of bureaucratic control and performance-related criteria and plays a major role in illuminating how identity and practice are structured today. The volume concludes with a response from George Ritzer.
The contributors discuss the roots of the thesis, the rationalization of late modern life, the effects of increasing cultural commodification, the continuing prominence of American cultural and economic imperialism and the impact of globalization on social and cultural life. The strengths and weaknesses of the McDonaldization thesis are clearly evaluated and the irrational consequences of rationalization are pinpointed and critically developed. The book enlarges our understanding of how everyday life is structured by new standards of bureaucratic control and performance-related criteria and plays a major role in illuminating how identity and practice are structured today. The volume concludes with a response from George Ritzer.
Reviews / Votes
`An impressively wide-ranging collection of critical responses to, and applications of, Ritzer's thesis, including contributions by some of the world's leading social theorists and held together by Barry Smart's comprehensive introduction and Ritzer's own detailed response to his admirers and critics. The 'Ritzer thesis', as it has come to be know, has of course found a massive response, admirably captured in this volume' - William Outhwaite, University of Sussex`Consumer capitalism may be spreading everywhere, but not without opposition. As Resisting McDonaldization shows, a wide variety of people and movements struggle to maintain the local, to combine economic development with greater equality and justice, and to pursue alternative visions of the global future. The essays are trenchant and timely' - Craig Calhoun, New York University, USA
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Thousand Oaks
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
418 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7619-5518-4 (9780761955184)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Barry Smart
Resisting McDonaldization
Book
04/1999
1st Edition
SAGE Publications Inc
€309.00
Shipment within 15-20 days
Barry Smart
Resisting McDonaldization
E-Book
04/1999
1st Edition
SAGE Publications Ltd
€123.99
Available for download
Person
Barry Smart is Professor of Sociology at the University of Portsmouth and has longstanding research interests in the fields of social theory, political economy, and philosophy. His research interests include critical social research ethics; higher education; and collaborative work on veganism, ethics, lifestyle and environment.
Content
Resisting McDonaldization - Barry Smart
Theory, Process and Critique
Golden Arches and Iron Cages - Christiane Bender and Gianfranco Poggi
McDonaldization and the Poverty of Cultural Pessimism at the End of the Twentieth Century
Have You Had Your Theory Today? - John O'Neill
McDonaldization Enframed - Deena Weinstein and Michael A Weinstein
Rich Food - Joanne Finkelstein
McDonald's and Modern Life
McCitizens - Bryan Turner
Risk, Coolness and Irony in Contemporary Politics
Theme Parks and McDonaldization - Alan Bryman
The McDonaldization of Sport and Leisure - David Jary
McDonaldized Culture - The End of Communication? - Richard M[um]unch
Art Centres - Gary Alan Fine
Southern Folk Art and the Splintering of a Hegemonic Market
Dennis Hopper, McDonald's and Nike - Norman K Denzin
Theorizing/Resisting McDonaldization - Douglas Kellner
A Multiperspectivist Approach
The Moral Malaise of McDonaldization - Keith Tester
The Values of Vegetarianism
McFascism? Reading Ritzer, Bauman and the Holocaust - Peter Beilharz
Assessing the Resistance - George Ritzer
Theory, Process and Critique
Golden Arches and Iron Cages - Christiane Bender and Gianfranco Poggi
McDonaldization and the Poverty of Cultural Pessimism at the End of the Twentieth Century
Have You Had Your Theory Today? - John O'Neill
McDonaldization Enframed - Deena Weinstein and Michael A Weinstein
Rich Food - Joanne Finkelstein
McDonald's and Modern Life
McCitizens - Bryan Turner
Risk, Coolness and Irony in Contemporary Politics
Theme Parks and McDonaldization - Alan Bryman
The McDonaldization of Sport and Leisure - David Jary
McDonaldized Culture - The End of Communication? - Richard M[um]unch
Art Centres - Gary Alan Fine
Southern Folk Art and the Splintering of a Hegemonic Market
Dennis Hopper, McDonald's and Nike - Norman K Denzin
Theorizing/Resisting McDonaldization - Douglas Kellner
A Multiperspectivist Approach
The Moral Malaise of McDonaldization - Keith Tester
The Values of Vegetarianism
McFascism? Reading Ritzer, Bauman and the Holocaust - Peter Beilharz
Assessing the Resistance - George Ritzer