The American sociologist George Ritzer coined the term ‘McDonaldization’ in his work published in 2002, McDonaldization: The Reader. McDonaldization is “the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world” (Ritzer, 2002, page 4) and Ritzer explores this conceptual theory in great detail, addressing the fact that it spans through every aspect of society whilst simultaneously drawing on ideas of its consequences and potential impacts to society as a whole. The aim of this essay is to, in short, highlight the geographical aspects that Ritzer sets in motion within his theory; exploring the geographical relevance of his work and underlining the extent to which these geographical links are developed. Furthermore, this essay will address both the strengths and weaknesses of McDonaldization from a geographical scope and ultimately argue that the concept has a deeper geographical connection than first expected.
Firstly, it is argued by many that Ritzer’s concept of McDonaldization is merely that of the subject surrounding sociology with no greater links to geographical theory. Key features of Ritzer’s work include the exploration into work of another sociologist, Max Weber who developed the idea of the “process of rationalization” (Gane, 2002, page 2) which examined ideas of rationality in bureaucracies; Ritzer later linked this to McDonaldization. The structured, efficient and predictable characteristics of a contemporary western bureaucracy began to reflect that of a fast-food restaurant such as McDonald’s or Burger King, leading to the discussion of a theory conceptualising a metaphor of an “iron cage” (Weber,1905). The theory behind this encapsulated the idea that modern day society were almost trapped unwillingly behind bars of metaphorical iron, from the point of view of Weber “bureaucracies are cages in the sense that people are trapped in them, their basic humanity denied” (Ritzer, 2002). What Ritzer was drawing on here is that when society indulged in these McDonaldized processes (in the form of fast-food restaurants, holiday parks and shopping malls) they end up becoming trapped in the false reality of rationalization and the cycle repeats itself again and again until individuals occupy this behaviour as a way of life. In terms of social and human geography it is hard to see the link between the concept of rationality and the iron cages and geographical aspects; although Ritzer addresses that society as a whole is involved with McDonaldization (which could be seen as a binding idea between geography and the theory) it could be argued that the links fail to delve any deeper with a lack of further human and physical geographical presence. With focused discussion on the bureaucratic strands of society it could be said that the geographical links are overlooked by that of more poignant economical areas of study that are better suited to the theory behind the concept. For example, far more links can be made between McDonaldization and ideas of profit maximisation and economies of scale which are key features of basic economics; it is pointed out that “American society prizes strategies which reduce costs and raise profits” (Lyon, Taylor and Smith, 1994, page 96) which is a direct link to the field of economics. Going deeper into this, Ritzer’s reference to the Big Mac Index which features in The Economist is an additional telling link to theories surrounding Economics thus swaying away from any present geographical theories. So, from one academic point of view, it can be concluded that Ritzer’s concept is far from having a geographical depth.
For the next part of the essay, a contrasting and alternative view point will be discussed, contributing to the main argument present in this essay. The viewpoint arises when aspects of globalisation and spatial scale are developed. Ideas of globalisation dominate the subject of human geography; encompassing a wide range of issues including ones that address the social, economic and political impacts of the phenomena in a similar way to the way that Ritzer encapsulates these factors within his exploration of his theory. Likewise, Ritzer also explores the spatial scale in which his concept spans; in this case, across the whole globe and throughout the whole of society – another important characteristic specific to the subject of geography. Here, the argument will be focused around the ways in which geography is an important contributor to the theory of McDonaldization. Globalisation is most commonly defined as “the widening, deepening and speeding up of global interconnectedness” (Held, 1999), including familiar characteristics that are present in Ritzer’s work – for example, Ritzer indicates in the introduction of his book that “McDonaldization affects not only the restaurant business but also education, work, health care, travel, leisure” (Ritzer, 2002, page 5) amongst many other aspects of society. He also alludes to the fact that McDonaldization is not only a process that is present in America but also appears in European countries, China, Japan and Sweden, just to name a few. In an article written by The American University of The Middle East, the concepts of McDonaldization and globalisation are applied to “the rationalization of funeral and burial practices in Kuwait” (Iqbal, 2011, page 96) highlighting further the ways in which globalisation and McDonaldization really have had an impact globally. These links that can be made between McDonaldization and globalisation underline the core geographical influence the Ritzer uses in his research of the theory, the fact that such a heavily weighted geographical concept relates so strongly to the idea of McDonaldization proves that geographical themes are deeply explored within his work. What is gathered from Ritzer’s work is an idea surrounding the fact that McDonaldization has almost been fuelled by globalisation. The fact that transport systems have improved drastically over the last decade means the ease of trade has similarly improved, thus allowing large Transnational Corporations such as Toyota, BP and Tesco, who take on similar characteristics of the McDonaldization processes, to dominate in a wide range of countries across the globe. Furthermore, advancements in technology and the increase in popularity of the media as a result of globalisation, means that individuals are almost more aware of McDonaldization allowing the phenomena to be fuelled and developed further, thus increasing the global scale of it. Therefore, it could be argued that McDonaldization’s ‘success’ is largely down to the ever-increasing interconnectedness of the world that globalisation explores. Focusing now on a physical geographical approach, Ritzer’s exploration into the threats that McDonaldization poses to the environment link to the physical aspect of ideas surrounding conservation and prevention of the degradation of the planet. Ritzer addresses impacts such as the degradation of forests as a result of the production of paper packaging as well as the pollution of water sources from nitrate fertilizers used to feed animals for the production of meat. Clearly these ideas here link to fundamental issues that geographers study thus meaning again that there are viable connections between McDonaldization and geography; showing that Ritzer developed a well-established understanding of both elements of the social geographies as well as the physical.
In conclusion, it is vastly apparent that Ritzer explores key themes of geographical concepts within his work on McDonaldization. The important influence of globalisation (as discovered to be a key aspect of human development geography) in the enlargement of the McDonaldization process is a vital element to this conclusion. The fact that the two coincide almost perfectly highlights the depth in which geography as a subject has in the development of the process of McDonaldization. Furthermore, Ritzer’s exploration into the environmental impacts that the process inflicts deepens the connection between geography and the concept even further. Despite the fact that some geographers may not be able to see past dominance of the sociological and economical influence that Ritzer’s work is somewhat based around (as discussed in the opening point of the essay), it is hard to ignore the compelling connections and developments that geography has with the concept of McDonaldization. Thus, we are able to conclude that the concept of McDonaldization is heavily influenced and explored from a geographical perspective.