Ritzer's work over the course of the last fifteen years has increasingly focused on the impact of three overarching social forces that are rapidly transforming sociocultural systems around the world. These three forces are rationalization, capital development, and Americanization. Ritzer’s sociology addresses three major questions: What are the characteristics of these social forces? What are their dynamics, why are they gathering strength and expanding throughout the globe? And, how has their continued growth affected the experience and quality of life? George Ritzer is one of the most prolific and popular sociologists alive today. Ritzer's sociology is strongly influenced by Max Weber and Karl Marx, though he has changed the focus from production to consumption.

Read:

Chapter 10: "George Ritzer's Rationalization of Consumption" in Macrosociology: The Study of Sociocultural Systems.

George Ritzer's Rationalization Theory 

Recommended Reading:

An Interview with Ritzer

Bibliography:

Ritzer, G. (2007, August 25). About Ritzer. (F. Elwell, Interviewer)

Ritzer, G. (2007). Being (George Ritzer) and Nothingness: An Interview. (S. Dandaneau, & R. Dodsworth, Interviewers)

Ritzer, G. (2005). Enchanting a Disenchanted World: Revolutionizing the Means of Consumption (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press.

Ritzer, G. (1995). Expressing America: A Critique fo the Global Credit Card Society. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press.

Ritzer, G. (n.d.). George Ritzer Home Page. Retrieved August 20, 2007, from University of Maryland: http://www.bsos.umd.edu/socy/ritzer/

Ritzer, G. (1975). Sociology: A Multiple Paradigm Science. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc.

Ritzer, G. (2004). The Globalization of Nothing. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press.

Ritzer, G. (1993). The McDonaldization of Society. Newbury Park: Pine Forge Press.