The Irrational Fear of McDonaldization and the Myth of Cultural Purity

Fabian Speitkamp

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Essay from the year 2015 in the subject Sociology - Individual, Groups, Society, grade: 1,3, University of Siegen, course: World ...

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Essay from the year 2015 in the subject Sociology - Individual, Groups, Society, grade: 1,3, University of Siegen, course: World Society, World Culture and World Politics, language: English, abstract: McDonaldized products are highly standardized and quantity is generally more important than quality. This leads to a competitive advantage towards other systems. Of course, not only food can be produced following those principles mentioned above. Everything can be McDonaldized, education, health care, music, etc. and the trend is expanding (Ritzer, Stillman 2003, p.34). But McDonaldization has limits and although the concept sounds menacing, it is not the end of diversity. McDonaldized systems can be influenced locally and they can change over time, too (Ritzer, Stillman 2003, p.39). As a global restaurant, McDonald's has quickly adapted to local needs: In India, the company sells primarily lamb and chicken meat, and pork is not on the menu in Muslim countries. Actually they created a Nürnburger especially for German restaurants. Other global players like Hollywood studios and broadcast networks also adapt to localities, and create special content for different markets (Robertson 1995, p.38). So how can McDonald's and the like homogenize the world, when they are changing themselves because of various local preferences?