George Ritzer - The McDonaldization of Society : Into the Digital Age

Acquisitions Editor: Jeff Lasser

Editorial Assistant: Adeline Wilson

Marketing Manager: Jennifer Jones

Production Editor: Veronica Stapleton Hooper

Copy Editor: Gretchen Treadwell

Typesetter: Hurix Digital

Proofreader: Sally Jaskold

Indexer: Maria Sosnowski

Cover Designer: Janet Kiesel

This ninth edition of The McDonaldization of Society is in many ways the most important and dramatic of all the revisions. While the process of McDonaldization is, if anything, stronger than ever, its center has shifted dramatically over the last several decades. That new reality is accorded a significant place in this analysis. For that reasonand othersa substantial reorientation of this book is needed.

From its inception in the early 1950s, and for several decades beyond that, the heart of the McDonaldization process lay in brick-and-mortar structures devoted to consumption (most notably, of course, the fast-food restaurant). However, its center has increasingly moved to the digital world, especially its consumption sites (most importantly, Amazon.com). While for the foreseeable future the vast majority of consumption will continue to take place in brick-and-mortar structures, an ever-increasing amount of it will occur online. However, there are limits to the online expansion of consumption. For example, we are a long way from being able to download hamburgers or pizza from the Internet.