The McDonaldization of Society 6 - 9781412980128

As one of the most eye-opening and popular sociology books of all time, The McDonaldization of Society demonstrates the power of the sociological imagination to today's readers in a way that few other books have, linking theory to contemporary pop-culture examples that resonate with 21st-century students. This Sixth Edition includes a new concluding Chapter 10 “The DeMcDonaldization Society?” that examines recent phenomena like Web 2.0 and its relationship to the McDonaldization thesis.

New to this Edition

• Many new and updated examples are from the digital world, keeping the text ultimately relevant for the contemporary student reader.
• This edition includes an increased focus on globalization, exploring how McDonaldization has become deeply ingrained in many other cultures around the world.
• A new final chapter (10) on “The DeMcDonaldization of Society?” examines the processes of deMcDonaldization and concludes that while it is occurring on the surface, McDonaldization is alive and well-for example, in the structures that underlie Web 2.0

Key Features

• This text was written to be accessible to a wide readership, but it remains firmly based on strong social theories, particularly Weber's theory of rationalization. Ritzer links a large number of social phenomena to McDonaldization and continues to spark and invite debate within lecture halls and beyond.