Explorations in the Sociology of Consumption

Fast Food, Credit Cards and Casinos
First Edition
George Ritzer - University of Maryland, USA
Explorations in the Sociology of Consumption
June 2001 | 272 pages | Sage UK
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ISBN: 9781412933292
Available from January 0001
Hardcover
ISBN: 9780761971191
Available from January 0001

Description

In this book, one of the leading social theorists and cultural commentators of modern times, turns his gaze on consumption. George Ritzer, author of the famous McDonaldization Thesis, demonstrates the irrational consequences of the rational desire to consume and commodify. He examines how McDonaldization might be resisted, and situates the reader in the new cultural spaces that are emerging in society: shopping malls, casino hotels, Disneyfied theme parks and Las Vegas, the new `cathedrals of consumption' as he calls them. The book shows how new processes of consumption relate to globalization theory. In illuminating discussions of the work of Thorstein Veblen and the French situationists, Ritzer unearths the roots of problems of consumption in older sociological traditions. He indicates how transgression is bound up with consumption, through an investigation of the obscene in popular and postmodern culture.

Contents

Writing to Be Read

Writing to Be Read

The Irrationality of Rationality

The Irrationality of Rationality

Some Thoughts on the Future of McDonaldization

Some Thoughts on the Future of McDonaldization

The Process of McDonaldization Is Not Uniform

  • Nor Are Its Settings, Consumers or the Consumption of Its Goods and Services

Expressing America

  • A Critique of the Global Credit Card Society

Enchanting a Disenchanted World

  • Revolutionizing the Means of Consumption

Ensnared in the E-Net

  • The Future Belongs to the Immaterial Means of Consumption

The New Means of Consumption and the Situationist Perspective

The New Means of Consumption and the Situationist Perspective

Thorstein Veblen in the Age of Hyperconsumerism

Thorstein Veblen in the Age of Hyperconsumerism

Obscene from Any Angle

  • Fast Food, Credit Cards, Casinos and Consumers

Description

In this book, one of the leading social theorists and cultural commentators of modern times, turns his gaze on consumption. George Ritzer, author of the famous McDonaldization Thesis, demonstrates the irrational consequences of the rational desire to consume and commodify. He examines how McDonaldization might be resisted, and situates the reader in the new cultural spaces that are emerging in society: shopping malls, casino hotels, Disneyfied theme parks and Las Vegas, the new `cathedrals of consumption' as he calls them. The book shows how new processes of consumption relate to globalization theory. In illuminating discussions of the work of Thorstein Veblen and the French situationists, Ritzer unearths the roots of problems of consumption in older sociological traditions. He indicates how transgression is bound up with consumption, through an investigation of the obscene in popular and postmodern culture.

Contents

Writing to Be Read

Writing to Be Read

The Irrationality of Rationality

The Irrationality of Rationality

Some Thoughts on the Future of McDonaldization

Some Thoughts on the Future of McDonaldization

The Process of McDonaldization Is Not Uniform

  • Nor Are Its Settings, Consumers or the Consumption of Its Goods and Services

Expressing America

  • A Critique of the Global Credit Card Society

Enchanting a Disenchanted World

  • Revolutionizing the Means of Consumption

Ensnared in the E-Net

  • The Future Belongs to the Immaterial Means of Consumption

The New Means of Consumption and the Situationist Perspective

The New Means of Consumption and the Situationist Perspective

Thorstein Veblen in the Age of Hyperconsumerism

Thorstein Veblen in the Age of Hyperconsumerism

Obscene from Any Angle

  • Fast Food, Credit Cards, Casinos and Consumers
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Explorations in the Sociology of Consumption

Fast Food, Credit Cards and Casinos


June 2001 | 272 pages | Sage UK

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Hardcover 31/03/2026 9780761971191 $274.00
Paperback 31/03/2026 9780761971207 $146.00
180 Day Ebook 28/03/2023 9781412933292 $86.00
Lifetime 28/03/2023 9781412933292 $124.00

In this book, one of the leading social theorists and cultural commentators of modern times, turns his gaze on consumption. George Ritzer, author of the famous McDonaldization Thesis, demonstrates the irrational consequences of the rational desire to consume and commodify. He examines how McDonaldization might be resisted, and situates the reader in the new cultural spaces that are emerging in society: shopping malls, casino hotels, Disneyfied theme parks and Las Vegas, the new `cathedrals of consumption' as he calls them. The book shows how new processes of consumption relate to globalization theory. In illuminating discussions of the work of Thorstein Veblen and the French situationists, Ritzer unearths the roots of problems of consumption in older sociological traditions. He indicates how transgression is bound up with consumption, through an investigation of the obscene in popular and postmodern culture.

Table Of Contents:

  • Writing to Be Read
  • The Irrationality of Rationality
  • Some Thoughts on the Future of McDonaldization
  • The Process of McDonaldization Is Not Uniform
  • Nor Are Its Settings, Consumers or the Consumption of Its Goods and Services
  • Expressing America
  • A Critique of the Global Credit Card Society
  • Enchanting a Disenchanted World
  • Revolutionizing the Means of Consumption
  • Ensnared in the E-Net
  • The Future Belongs to the Immaterial Means of Consumption
  • The New Means of Consumption and the Situationist Perspective
  • Thorstein Veblen in the Age of Hyperconsumerism
  • Obscene from Any Angle
  • Fast Food, Credit Cards, Casinos and Consumers

Recent Product Reviews:

`With this new collection, George Ritzer further cements his reputation as a leading commentator on consumption. In so doing, he delves deeper into a variety of new territories, such as the significance of casinos, than in his previous works. The salience of the developments he so rigorously outlines for wider trends in globalization is accessibly explained. Researchers into consumption and globalization will definitely want this book on their shelves' - Alan Bryman, University of Loughborough

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