Resisting McDonaldization - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0761955186 ISBN 13: 9780761955184

Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd, 1999

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author

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. 

Edition details

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0761955186
• ISBN 13: 9780761955184
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272
• Editor: Smart Barry