Globalization: The Essentials / Edition 1

by George Ritzer

Overview

Essentials of Globalization is a highly useful compact edition of the author's full-scale textbook, Globalization: A Basic Text. The Essentials is written in a style accessible to undergraduates, and draws on both academic and popular sources in its explanations.

• A highly useful compact version of Globalization: A Basic Text , which still contains the major areas whilst being especially affordable for the student market

• Develops a unique perspective on globalization early in the book and uses it throughout to orient and organize discussion of a wide range of topics and parts of the world

• Integrated use of a wide array of materials, including empirical research, theories, newspaper and magazine articles, monographs, popular books

• Designed to work as a basic text in a course on globalization, or as a supplementary text in that or other courses which wish to include globalization as one of several topics

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470655603
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	05/03/2011
Edition description:	Older Edition
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 9.70(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

George Ritzer is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, with awards that include the American Sociological Association's Distinguished Contribution to Teaching Award. He is the author of numerous books including The McDonaldization of Society (1993, 2011), The Globalization of Nothing (2003, 2007) Globalization: A Basic Text (2010) and the editor of The Encyclopedia of Social Theory (2005), The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology (2007), The Blackwell Companion to Globalization (2007) and the forthcoming The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Globalization. His work has been translated into over 20 languages.

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Table of Contents

Preface.

1 Globalization.

Conceptualization, Origins, and History.

Conceptualizing Globalization.

From "Solids" to "Liquids".

"Flows".

"Heavy" and "Light".

"Heavy" Structures that Expedite "Flows".

"Heavy" Structures as Barriers to "Flows".

Subtler Structural Barriers.

Origins and History of Globalization.

Hardwired.

Cycles.

Epochs.

Events.

Broader, More Recent Changes.

2 Theorizing Globalization.

Imperialism.

Colonialism.

Development.

Americanization.

Anti-Americanism as a Global Process.

Neo-Liberalism.

Neo-Liberalism: Basic Ideas.

The Neo-Liberal State.

Critiquing Neo-Liberalism: Karl Polanyi.

Contemporary Criticisms of Neo-Liberalism.

Neo-Marxian Theories.

Transnational Capitalism.

3 Structuring the Global Economy.

Before Bretton Woods.

A Prior Epoch of Globalization.

Economic Development during and after WW II.

Bretton Woods and the Bretton Woods System.

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

World Trade Organization (WTO).

International Monetary Fund (IMF).

World Bank.

The End of Bretton Woods.

Changes in, and Critiques of, Bretton-Woods-Era Organizations.

Other Important Economic Organizations.

The Multinational Corporation (MNC).

The Myth of Economic Globalization?

4 Global Economic Flows.

Trade.

Trade Surpluses and Deficits.

Global Trade: Economic Chains and Networks.

Global Value Chains: China and the US.

Increasing Competition for Commodities.

The Economic Impact of the Flow of Oil.

Oil Wealth.

Race to the Bottom and Upgrading.

Upgrading in the Less Developed World?

Outsourcing.

Financial Globalization.

The Great Recession.

Consumption.

Consumer Objects and Services.

Consumers.

Consumption Processes.

Consumption Sites.

Global Resistance.

Chapter Summary.

5 Global Political Structures and Processes.

On Political Flows.

The Nation-State.

Threats to the Nation-State.

In Defense of the Nation-State.

"Imagined Community".

Changes in Global Nation-State Relations.

United Nations (UN).

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

United Nations Educational, Scientifi c, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Global Governance.

Civil Society.

International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs).

6 High-Tech Global Flows and Structures.

Technology, Media, and the Internet.

Technology.

Medical Technologies.

Space-Based Technologies.

Leapfrogging.

India's "One Lakh Car" (or NANO).

Problematic Technological Flows.

Media.

Media Imperialism.

"Media Were American".

New Global Media.

Indymedia.

Thinking about the Global Media.

The Internet.

Online Social Networking.

Spam.

Computer Viruses.

The Internet in China.

7 Global Culture and Cultural Flows.

Cultural Differentialism.

Civilizations.

Cultural Hybridization.

Muslim Girl Scouts.

Appadurai's "Landscapes".

Cultural Convergence.

Cultural Imperialism.

World Culture.

McDonaldization.

The Globalization of Nothing.

8 Global Flows of Migrants.

Migrants.

Migration.

Flows of Migrants to and from the US.

Flow of Migrants Elsewhere in the World.

Great Britain.

Switzerland.

Greece.

The Case Against the Backlash to Illegal Immigration.

Remittances.

Diaspora.

9 Global Environmental Flows.

Differences Among Nation-States.

The Leading Environmental Problems.

Destruction of Natural Habitats.

Decline of Fish.

Decline in Fresh Water.

Toxic Chemicals.

Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming.

Population Growth.

The Global Flow of Dangerous Debris.

Global Responses.

Sustainable Development.

Dealing with Climate Change.

Carbon Tax.

Carbon Neutral.

Alternate Fuels and Power Sources.

A Technological Fix?

Economic Issues.

Opposing Environmentalism.

10 Negative Global Flows and Processes.

Dangerous Imports, Diseases, Crime, Terrorism, War.

Dangerous Imports.

Borderless Diseases.

HIV/AIDS.

Avian Flu.

SARS.

Ebola Virus.

Tropical Diseases in Europe.

Crime.

Terrorism.

War.

Global Military Structures.

Technology.

Information War.

Cyber-War.

The Impact of Negative Global Flows on Individuals.

11 Inequality.

Global Inequality.

"The Bottom Billion".

Migration.

E-Waste and Inequality.

Global Digital Divide.

Race and Ethnicity and Gender.

Race and Ethnicity.

Gender.

Rural–Urban and Inequality.

Rural.

Urban.

12 Dealing with, Resisting, and the Future of, Globalization.

Dealing with Globalization.

Dealing with the Global Economy.

Dealing with Political Globalization.

Resisting Globalization.

Local Resistance.

A Social Movement?

More Formal Social Movements.

World Social Forum and Cyberactivism.

Is the Resistance to Globalization Significant?

The Futures of Globalization.

A "Mad Max" Scenario.

Glossary.

Index.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Among social sciences, sociology offers the widest angle on globalization and among sociology texts this book covers most bases. Wide in coverage, ranging from economics to cultural trends, broad in approach, conceptually clear and fluent, this ranks as the most comprehensive overview text of globalization so far."
—Jan Nederveen Pieterse, University of California, Santa Barbara

"Opening vistas illuminating the vicissitudes of globalization, Ritzer shines bright light on these processes. His text offers an erudite, nuanced, and accessible analysis, with vital insights."
—James H. Mittelman, American University

Editorial Reviews

"In this textbook, Ritzer (sociology, U. of Maryland) provides a compact but still comprehensive version of his larger work on globalization . . . While written as a textbook, readers other than students might appreciate this interesting and informative introduction to a singularly complex topic." (Book News, 1 August 2011)

"Even in such a crowded market, this volume does therefore serve as a useful addition to the burgeoning number of textbooks." (Times Higher Education Supplement, 24 February 2011)

From the Publisher