Enchanting a Disenchanted World: Revolutionizing the Means of Consumption

by George Ritzer

In this essential guide to how we now consume, George Ritzer provides original and probing insights into the new forms and settings of consumer culture. Ranging from hyper-real Disney worlds to the local shopping mall, these studies of the new cathedrals of consumption will be compelling to anyone interested in the cultural and economic importance of consumption in our society. George Ritzer has established himself as the foremost observer of consumer culture. This is the most important book he has written since his classic work The McDonaldization of Society.

Genres: Sociology, Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

George Ritzer is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland. He has named at Distinguished-Scholar Teacher at Maryland and received the American Sociological Association’s Distinguished Contribution to Teaching Award. Among his academic awards are an Honorary Doctorate from La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia; Honorary Patron, University Philosophical Society, Trinity College, Dublin; and the 2012-2013 Robin William Lectureship from the Eastern Sociological Society. He has chaired four Sections of the American Sociological Association- Theoretical Sociology, Organizations and Occupations, first Chair of Global and Transnational Sociology, and the History of Sociology.
His books have been translated into over twenty languages, with over a dozen translations of The McDonaldization of Society alone.

Reviews

[Galibkaan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bu kitap için buraya gelecek arkadaşlara bir hatırlatma ve öneride bulunayım: Netflix'te de yayımlanan Bathtubs Over Broadway adlı belgeseli de mutlaka izlesinler. İşletmelerde çalışanları "büyülemek" üzerine muazzam -ve unutulmuş- bir sektörden bahsediyor belgesel.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6029778/...

[Şebnem Cansun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitabı Ayrıntı Yayınlarından okudum (2019 basımı) ve sistemde belirtildiği gibi 270 değil, 336 sayfa. Ritzer, tüketim sarmalı üzerine haklı noktalara dikkat çekiyor. Başta sosyologlar olmak üzere, pek çok sosyal bilimciye atıfta bulunması, çalışmanın bana kalırsa en güzel kısmı. Okuyucu böylelikle diğer araştırmacıların en öne çıkan fikirlerine de erişmiş oluyor. Çalışma biraz daha kısa olabilirdi, diye düşündüm. Ama bu düşünce benim, yalnızca bu kitap için değil, son zamanlarda okuduğum akademik kitaplara dair genel düşüncem. Okumaya değer.

[Katie Aromi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for a graduate level Sociology class. It was interesting, for the most part, but repetitive. Consumerism impacts or social institutions and economy in a multitude of ways and this book delves into this topic.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Ritzer's ideas, I'm just tired of him capitalizing on writing the same idea in a different form 1,000 times. This is very similar to McDonaldization and other works by Ritzer. Good intro to Ritzer, though.

[Hakan Fıçıcı · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bu tarz bir tez ortaya koyan kitapları yazıldıkları tarihte okumak değerli. Yazar ne bilsin dünyayı etkileyen bir pandeminin geleceğini, internetin bu kadar hızlı ve cep telefonlarına kadar yayılacağını. Haliyle tez bazı noktalarda arkaik kalıyor.

[Maide Karzaoğlu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hiç beğenmedim. Tüketim kültürü üzerine muhtemelen 50 sayfada özetlenecek bilgiyi, Amerika odaklı tüm dünya evreni üzerinde bu kadar gereksiz ayrıntılarla uzatmanın anlamını çözemedim. 1 puan vermemin tek sebebi kitabın ismini çok sevmiş olmam.

[Maxim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Page by page it makes you bored more and more while hoping to find some kind of critical thinking. It felt like you read a catalog which was one of the main issues in the "book" to criticize as meaningless stuff in today's postmodern world and so on.

[Deniz Yıldız · Rating 4 out of 5]

tüketimi fast food ile bağdaştırarark anlatması biraz baydı onun haricinde okunur

[zia · Rating 1 out of 5]

pierdolenie w kolko o 3 rzeczach tylko innymi slowami

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite social theorists thank you George Ritzer

[Marek Pawlowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kiedy za czasów studiów przeczytałem „Makdonaldyzację społeczeństwa” Riztera, zrobiła ona na mnie duże wrażenie. Dzięki niemu przekonałem się do analizy socjologicznej zjawisk społecznych nie na tyle, aby uznać ich prawdziwość, ile by nie traktować czasu na ich czytanie jako kompletnie zmarnowanego. Podobne odczucia mam w przypadku „Świata konsumpcji”. Jest to oczywiście rozwinięcie poglądów Ritzera z „Makdonaldyzacji”, tym razem jednakże czerpie dużo pomysłów z Baudrillarda. Jest to pozycja, której nie warto analizować analitycznie (podchodzić do niej na sposób filozofii analitycznej), raczej powinno się ją czytać jako pewną opowieść, wizję świata konkretnej osoby, jak postrzega ona naszą rzeczywistość. Coraz mniej zgadzam się z pomysłami Ritzera, choć pomysł z racjonalizacją i umagicznieniem wydaje się całkiem interesujący. W każdym razie warto przeczytać tę książkę, chociażby dlatego, że znajduje się w niej wiele pobocznych, ciekawych informacji na temat rynku komercyjnego w Stanach Zjednoczonych.

I read Ritzer’s “McDonaldization” for the first time when I was studying and it made a huge impression on me. Because of him I started to like sociological analysis of social phenomena. I’m not saying that I treat them like some real and true concepts, I’m just saying that the time spent on analysing them was not wasted. Similar feelings I have for “Enchanting a Disenchanted World”, it’s a continuation of his view from “McDonaldization….”. But this time, I think, he used mostly Baudrillard’s views for analysis. Of course this is a book that you shouldn’t analyse in the analytic way (in the sense of analytic philosophy), it rather should be read like a good story of someone who sees the word from his own specific perspective. Less and less I am agreeing with Ritzer but his main concept about enchanting and disenchanting is quiet interesting. Either way I think this book is worth reading, at least for that there is a lot of interesting information about the American commercial market

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for a sociology class. I found the book to be illuminating on topics that I had not really considered in the realm of consumption. He uses the principles of Karl Marx, Max Weber and Jean Baudrillard as guidance in understanding our culture of consumption.

[Juho Salo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Answered so many questions I've held since childhood. And really well written, to boot!