GLOBALIZATION: THE ESSENTIALSGeorge Ritzer This balanced introduction draws on academic and popular...
Transcript of GLOBALIZATION: THE ESSENTIALSGeorge Ritzer This balanced introduction draws on academic and popular...
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A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication
GLOBALIZATION THE ESSENTIALSGEORGE RITZER
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Globalization
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GlobalizationA Basic Text
George Ritzer
This balanced introduction draws on academic and popular sources to examine the major issues and events in the history of globalization.
Globalization: A Basic Text is a substantial introductory textbook, designed to work either on its own or alongside Readings in Globalization. The books are cross-referenced and are both structured around the core concepts of globalization.
2009 • 608 pages • 978-1-4051-3271-8 • paperbackwww.wiley.com/go/globalization
Readings in GlobalizationKey Readings and Major Debates
Edited by George Ritzer and Zeynep Atalay
This unique and engaging anthology introduces students to the major concepts of globalization within the context of the key debates and disputes.
Readings in Globalization illustrates that major debates in the fi eld are not only useful to examine for their own merit but can extend our knowledge of globalization. The volume explores both the political economy of globalization and the relationship of culture to globalization.
The volume is designed so it may be used independently, or alongside George Ritzer’s Globalization: A Basic Text for a complete student resource.
2010 • 560 pages • 978-1-4051-3273-2 • paperback
Order together and save! Quote ISBN 978-1-4443-2371-9
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A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication
GLOBALIZATION THE ESSENTIALSGEORGE RITZER
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This edition fi rst published 2011© 2011 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Edition history: portions of this text appeared in Globalization: A Basic Text (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010)
Wiley-Blackwell is an imprint of John Wiley & Sons, formed by the merger of Wiley’s global Scientifi c, Technical and Medical business with Blackwell Publishing.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataRitzer, George. Globalization : the essentials / George Ritzer. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-470-65560-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) – ISBN 978-0-470-65561-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Globalization. I. Title. JZ1318.R5835 2011 303.48'2–dc22 2010042203
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This book is published in the following electronic formats: ePDFs 978-1-4443-9356-9; ePub 978-1-4443-9357-6
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1 2011
www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell
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CONTENTS
Preface xi
1 Globalization 1Conceptualization, Origins, and History
Conceptualizing Globalization 3From “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 17Hardwired 17
Cycles 18
Epochs 18
Events 18
Broader, More Recent Changes 20
Chapter Summary 22
2 Theorizing Globalization 28
Imperialism 29Colonialism 31Development 32Americanization 34
Anti-Americanism as a Global Process 36
Neo-Liberalism 37Neo-Liberalism: Basic Ideas 40
The Neo-Liberal State 41
Critiquing Neo-Liberalism: Karl Polanyi 42
Contemporary Criticisms of Neo-Liberalism 44
Neo-Marxian Theories 45Transnational Capitalism 45
Empire 47
Chapter Summary 49
3 Structuring the Global Economy 55
Before Bretton Woods 56A Prior Epoch of Globalization 56
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Contentsvi
Economic Development during and after WW II 57
Bretton Woods and the Bretton Woods System 58General 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 66Changes in, and Critiques of, Bretton-Woods-Era Organizations 67Other Important Economic Organizations 72The Multinational Corporation (MNC) 72The Myth of Economic Globalization? 75Chapter Summary 76
4 Global Economic Flows 81
Trade 82Trade 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 88The Economic Impact of the Flow of Oil 89
Oil Wealth 90
Race to the Bottom and Upgrading 91Upgrading in the Less Developed World? 92
Outsourcing 93Financial Globalization 95
The Great Recession 95
Consumption 98Consumer 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 107The Nation-State 108
Threats to the Nation-State 109
Global fl ows 109
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viiContents
International human rights 110
“Shadows of war” 111
In Defense of the Nation-State 111“Imagined Community” 112Changes in Global Nation-State Relations 114United Nations (UN) 117
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 118
United Nations Educational, Scientifi c, and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) 118
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 118
Global Governance 119Civil Society 121
International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) 124
Chapter Summary 128
6 High-Tech Global Flows and Structures 133Technology, Media, and the Internet
Technology 134Medical Technologies 135
Space-Based Technologies 136
Leapfrogging 136
India’s “One Lakh Car” (or NANO) 138
Problematic Technological Flows 139
Media 139Media Imperialism 139
“Media Were American” 140
New Global Media 141
Indymedia 142
Thinking about the Global Media 143
The Internet 145Online 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 155Civilizations 155
Cultural Hybridization 159Muslim Girl Scouts 160
Appadurai’s “Landscapes” 161
Cultural Convergence 163
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Contentsviii
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 179Migration 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 207Collapse 207The 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
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ixContents
Global Responses 216Sustainable 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 230Dangerous Imports, Diseases, Crime, Terrorism, War
Dangerous Imports 232Borderless Diseases 233
HIV/AIDS 234
Avian Flu 235
SARS 236
Ebola Virus 236
Tropical Diseases in Europe 237
Crime 237Terrorism 242War 247
Global Military Structures 249
Technology 249
Information War 250
Cyber-War 252
The Impact of Negative Global Flows on Individuals 253Chapter 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 264Race and Ethnicity 264
Gender 270
Gender and the economy 271
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Contentsx
Global care chains 275
Traffi cking 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 278Rural 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 292Dealing 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 301Local Resistance 304
A Social Movement? 305
More Formal Social Movements 306
World Social Forum and Cyberactivism 306
Is the Resistance to Globalization Signifi cant? 308
The Futures of Globalization 309A “Mad Max” Scenario 311
Chapter Summary 312
Glossary 317Index 322
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PREFACE
Globalization: The Essentials is an abbreviated version of Globalization: A Basic Text (2010). While the latter is designed as a full - scale textbook for a course on global-ization, this volume is considerably shorter. It can still be used as a text in such a course, but its comparative brevity enables the instructor to assign other books, as well. In addition, it can be used as a supplementary book in a variety of other courses in sociology and the social sciences. As the title suggests, this volume retains the essential elements of the original text. Four chapters, the Appendix and various other portions of the text have been deleted from Globalization: A Basic Text to create this volume. That material is, of course, important, but hard decisions had to be made about what to cut and not to cut. It is my belief that this shorter text continues to deliver what is most important to a fundamental understanding of this most important process of our day and in the foreseeable future.
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CHAPTER
1 GlobalizationConceptualization, 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
Chapter Summary
Globalization: The Essentials, by George Ritzer© 2011 John Wiley & Sons Ltd