The Globalization of Nothing

by George Ritzer

George Ritzer theorizes in his provocative new book, The Globalization of Nothing , that the "grand narrative" or social story of this period is a movement from "something" to "nothing." Building on but going beyond his renowned McDonaldization thesis, Ritzer contends that societies around the globe continue to move away from "something," defined as a social form that is generally indigenously conceived, locally controlled, and rich in distinctive content. He argues that we are moving toward "nothing" – that which is centrally controlled and conceived and relatively devoid of distinctive substance. It is in the movement toward the globalization of "nothing" that "something" is lost. More than likely, that "something" is an indigenous custom, a local store, a familiar gathering place, or simply personalized interaction. Thus, the central problem in the world today is defined as "loss amidst monumental abundance (of nothing)."

The Globalization of Nothing takes the subject of globalization in new directions, introducing terms such as "grobalization" (the growing influence of, for example, American corporations throughout the world). This book is structured around four sets of concepts addressing this "places/non-places," "things/non-things," "people/non-people," and "services/non-services." By drawing upon salient examples from everyday life, George Ritzer invites the reader to examine the nuances of these concepts in conjunction with the paradoxes within the process of the globalization of nothing.

The Globalization of Nothing is ideal as a primary or supplemental text for courses in sociology, anthropology, communication, business, and related disciplines. This book is also recommended for anyone interested in the critical study of contemporary social phenomena.

Genres: Sociology, Nonfiction, Social Science, Philosophy, School

280 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

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

[Andrei Ștefănucă · Rating 2 out of 5]

A perspective on current globalization dynamics that tries to take into account any and all factors on a scale from local to global. In Ritzer's view, society appears to explode and and at the same time implode under the influence of opposite feedback cycles that mold everything from local, authentic, cultural something to insipid, mono-sexual, global nothing. Nevertheless the book is only a general sketch, the painting needs more detail. And balance.

[columbo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, some great (fast??) food for thought. Never mind that this book is short, digestible, and indistinguishable from the other copies of this book that exist in the world—aren’t all books “nothing,” in a way, or is it more about the content? But then why isn’t a Whopper something, despite its mass production—some would argue the food is pretty distinctive from other foods and the way in which it is consumed may be entirely unique…

I get what point he’s trying to make though. His definition of “nothing” is less compelling that his grobalization vs glocalization analysis. What I think is especially important is that mass production (and capitalism in its by-definition pursuit of continued growth and consumption) removes the consumer from the producer to the point that most of us are pretty okay with purchasing things that were made by sweatshop workers and children. Consumption on a local scale allows for the possibility of personal connection between buyer and creator (even if that connection doesn’t actually happen), as opposed to the highly impersonal non-relationship across buyer-distributor-producer-capitalist mastermind (Jeff Bezos). If this was worth exploring 20 years ago, I can’t even think of the amount of work that needs to be done on this now.

but this guy used way too many sentence modifiers :/ “in fact,” “however,” “furthermore” shut up

[Nati Vozian · Rating 5 out of 5]

un subiect ce preocupa deopotriva sociologii si economistii. despre cosumerismul excesiv, catedralele comerciale si dilema to go global or to stay local.

[Steven Pearce]

Very good sociology book.