Summary
Contents
Subject index
George Ritzer's McDonaldization thesis argued that contemporary life is succumbing to the standardization, flexibility and practicability of fast-food service. This book brings together specially commissioned papers by leading social and cultural analysts to engage in a critical appraisal of the thesis. The contributors discuss the roots of the thesis, the rationalization of late modern life, the effects of increasing cultural commodification, the continuing prominence of American cultural and economic imperialism and the impact of globalization on social and cultural life. The strengths and weaknesses of the McDonaldization thesis are clearly evaluated and the irrational consequences of rationalization are pinpointed and critically
The Moral Malaise of McDonaldization: The Values of Vegetarianism
The Moral Malaise of McDonaldization: The Values of Vegetarianism
Burger Chains and Bus Drivers
On 23 November 1996 the Guardian newspaper published a few ‘News McNuggets’ (Ritzer, 1993: 57). One of them can be quoted in full:
A California bus company has agreed to pay $50,000 (£29,500) to settle a suit brought by a vegetarian bus driver sacked for refusing to hand out promotional hamburger coupons to passengers.
There are a number of ways in which this item can be read. First, it is a prime example of the McDonaldization of news. As Ritzer says of all ‘News McNuggets’, the story about the Californian bus driver has been ruthlessly edited so that it has no context and is, instead, just ...
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