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 contains the all major areas in an accessible and affordable format for undergraduate students
- 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 sources, including empirical research, theories, newspaper and magazine articles, monographs, and popular books
- Designed to work as a basic text in globalization courses, or as a supplementary text in courses that include globalization as one of several topics
Table of Contents:
Preface xi
1 Globalization 1
Conceptualization, Origins, and History
Conceptualizing Globalization 3
From “Solids” to “Liquids” 3
“Flows” 7
“Heavy” and “Light” 8
“Heavy” Structures that Expedite “Flows” 10
“Heavy” Structures as Barriers to “Flows” 12
Subtler Structural Barriers 16
Origins and History of Globalization 17
Hardwired 17
Cycles 18
Epochs 18
Events 18
Broader, More Recent Changes 20
Chapter Summary 22
2 Theorizing Globalization 28
Imperialism 29
Colonialism 31
Development 32
Americanization 34
Anti-Americanism as a Global Process 36
Neo-Liberalism 37
Neo-Liberalism: Basic Ideas 40
The Neo-Liberal State 41
Critiquing Neo-Liberalism: Karl Polanyi 42
Contemporary Criticisms of Neo-Liberalism 44
Neo-Marxian Theories 45
Transnational Capitalism 45
Empire 47
Chapter Summary 49
3 Structuring the Global Economy 55
Before Bretton Woods 56
A Prior Epoch of Globalization 56
Economic Development during and after WW II 57
Bretton Woods and the Bretton Woods System 58
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 60
World Trade Organization (WTO) 61
International Monetary Fund (IMF) 61
World Bank 64
The End of Bretton Woods 66
Changes in, and Critiques of, Bretton-Woods-Era Organizations 67
Other Important Economic Organizations 72
The Multinational Corporation (MNC) 72
The Myth of Economic Globalization? 75
Chapter Summary 76
4 Global Economic Flows 81
Trade 82
Trade Surpluses and Defi cits 82
Global Trade: Economic Chains and Networks 82
Global Value Chains: China and the US 84
Scrap metal 84
Waste paper 85
T-shirts 86
iPhones 87
Increasing Competition for Commodities 88
The Economic Impact of the Flow of Oil 89
Oil Wealth 90
Race to the Bottom and Upgrading 91
Upgrading in the Less Developed World? 92
Outsourcing 93
Financial Globalization 95
The Great Recession 95
Consumption 98
Consumer Objects and Services 100
Consumers 100
Consumption Processes 101
Consumption Sites 101
Global Resistance 101
Chapter Summary 102
5 Global Political Structures and Processes 106
On Political Flows 107
The Nation-State 108
Threats to the Nation-State 109
Global flows 109
International human rights 110
“Shadows of war” 111
In Defense of the Nation-State 111
“Imagined Community” 112
Changes in Global Nation-State Relations 114
United Nations (UN) 117
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 118
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) 118
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 118
Global Governance 119
Civil Society 121
International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) 124
Chapter Summary 128
6 High-Tech Global Flows and Structures 133
Technology, Media, and the Internet
Technology 134
Medical Technologies 135
Space-Based Technologies 136
Leapfrogging 136
India’s “One Lakh Car” (or NANO) 138
Problematic Technological Flows 139
Media 139
Media Imperialism 139
“Media Were American” 140
New Global Media 141
Indymedia 142
Thinking about the Global Media 143
The Internet 145
Online Social Networking 146
Spam 147
Computer Viruses 147
The Internet in China 148
Chapter Summary 149
7 Global Culture and Cultural Flows 153
Cultural Differentialism 155
Civilizations 155
Cultural Hybridization 159
Muslim Girl Scouts 160
Appadurai’s “Landscapes” 161
Cultural Convergence 163
Cultural Imperialism 163
Indian sari weavers 164
Deterritorialization 165
World Culture 165
McDonaldization 167
McDonaldization, expansionism, and globalization 169
Beyond fast food 170
The Globalization of Nothing 171
Cricket: local, glocal, or grobal? 173
Chapter Summary 174
8 Global Flows of Migrants 178
Migrants 179
Migration 180
Flows of Migrants to and from the US 183
Illegal Mexican migrants to the US 183
Migrants through Mexico and to the US 185
Increased law enforcement 185
Flow of Migrants Elsewhere in the World 187
Illegal immigrants in Europe 187
Great Britain 187
Switzerland 188
Greece 189
Illegal immigrants in Asia 190
The Case Against the Backlash to Illegal Immigration 191
Remittances 194
Diaspora 197
Chapter Summary 199
9 Global Environmental Flows 204
Differences Among Nation-States 207
Collapse 207
The Leading Environmental Problems 208
Destruction of Natural Habitats 208
Decline of Fish 208
Decline in Fresh Water 209
The paradox of bottled water 211
Toxic Chemicals 212
Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming 212
Rising seas 213
Global warming and health 214
Population Growth 215
The Global Flow of Dangerous Debris 215
Global Responses 216
Sustainable Development 216
Dealing with Climate Change 218
Carbon Tax 219
Carbon Neutral 220
Alternate Fuels and Power Sources 220
Hybrid technology 220
Ethanol 221
Solar power 222
A Technological Fix? 222
Economic Issues 224
Opposing Environmentalism 224
Chapter Summary 225
10 Negative Global Flows and Processes 230
Dangerous Imports, Diseases, Crime, Terrorism, War
Dangerous Imports 232
Borderless Diseases 233
HIV/AIDS 234
Avian Flu 235
SARS 236
Ebola Virus 236
Tropical Diseases in Europe 237
Crime 237
Terrorism 242
War 247
Global Military Structures 249
Technology 249
Information War 250
Cyber-War 252
The Impact of Negative Global Flows on Individuals 253
Chapter Summary 254
11 Inequality 260
Global Inequality 261
“The Bottom Billion” 261
Migration 262
E-Waste and Inequality 263
Global Digital Divide 263
Race and Ethnicity and Gender 264
Race and Ethnicity 264
Gender 270
Gender and the economy 271
Global care chains 275
Trafficking in the sex industry 276
Mail-order brides 277
Responding to and resisting global minority status: the case of women 277
Rural–Urban and Inequality 278
Rural 278
Urban 281
Cities: the main locus of global problems 283
Chapter Summary 284
12 Dealing with, Resisting, and the Future of, Globalization 291
Dealing with Globalization 292
Dealing with the Global Economy 292
Protectionism 293
Fair trade 295
Helping the “bottom billion” 298
Dealing with Political Globalization 299
Accountability 299
Transparency 299
Transparency International (TI) 300
Resisting Globalization 301
Local Resistance 304
A Social Movement? 305
More Formal Social Movements 306
World Social Forum and Cyberactivism 306
Is the Resistance to Globalization Significant? 308
The Futures of Globalization 309
A “Mad Max” Scenario 311
Chapter Summary 312
Glossary 317
Index 322
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.
Review :
"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)
