Globalization : the essentials

A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication

GLOBALIZATION THE ESSENTIALS

GEORGE RITZER

Globalization

Globalization

A 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 • paperback

www.wiley.com/go/globalization

Readings in Globalization

Key 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

A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication

GLOBALIZATION THE ESSENTIALS

GEORGE RITZER

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)

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ritzer, 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

Set in 10.5/13pt Minion by Toppan Best-set Premedia Limited

1 2011

CONTENTS

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

vi Contents

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 fl ows 109

Contents vii

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, Scientifi c, 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

viii Contents

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

Contents ix

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

x Contents

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 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 Signifi cant? 308

The Futures of Globalization 309

A “Mad Max” Scenario 311

Chapter Summary 312

Glossary 317

Index 322

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.