Globalization/ the essentials George Ritzer

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