Bio: (1940-) American sociologist. George Ritzer holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University and has taught at the University of Maryland since 1974. At the beginning of his career, Ritzer's field of study was the sociology of work, and at the end of the 1970s, he began to deal intensively with sociological theory, from the aspect of metatheory. Metatheory or metatheorizing in sociology, for Ritzer, is a systematic study of sociological theory. Ricer dealt with metatheory in several books: Sociology: A Multiple Paradigm Science (1975), Toward an Integrated Sociological Paradigm: The Search for an Exemplar and an Image of the Subject Matter (1981), Metatheorizing in Sociology (1991),  Explorations in Social Theory: From Metatheorizing to Rationalization (2001).

                                  Concept of Paradigm

In his book Sociology: A Multiple Paradigm Science, Ritzer assesses the applicability of the concept of paradigm, which Thomas Kuhn introduced to the philosophy of science, to sociology. Ritzer concludes that sociology is divided into three fundamentally different paradigms: 1) a paradigm of social facts that is focused on large social structures and external limiting factors (norms and values); 2) a paradigm of social definitions that studies how actors define their own social situation; 3) a paradigm of social behavior that explores the social causes and consequences of unconscious human behavior.

In his book Towards an Integrated Sociological Paradigm, Ritzer explores aspects that are common to all three paradigms and the authors who overcame the differences between them. Finally, Ritzer proposes a unified paradigm by looking at the earlier three paradigms as macro-theories dealing with different "levels" of social reality. He distinguishes two dimensions of each level: micro-macro and subjective-objective. Its integrated paradigm studies the interrelationships of all these levels.

In the book Metatheorizing in Sociology, he discusses three different ways to deal with metatheory, in relation to the end product of metatheorizing: 1) to achieve a deeper understanding of sociological theory, 2) to make a basis for building a narrower theory, 3) to create new metatheories. Ritzer distinguishes between the creation of a new metatheory, that is, a new sociological paradigm or metatheory, after an extensive process of studying earlier metatheories (paradigms), and the creation of a new metatheory without that type of study. Ritzer believes that the second type of metatheory arises from the pure imagination of theorists or by borrowing ideas from other sciences and that such metatheories are difficult to understand and reconstruct the intellectual process that led to their emergence. Ritzer is also the author and editor of several textbooks and encyclopedias that deal with sociological theory and the history of sociology.

                              Mcdonaldization of Society

Ritzer's most famous original theoretical contribution is in the development of a concept he called "McDonaldization", which is best illustrated in the book McDonaldization of Society (1993), which has undergone several editions, many of which have been revised. Ritzer sees McDonaldization (a term he introduced to sociology back in 1983) as the application of Max Weber's rationality to the overall structure of society, with McDonald's business taken only as an example that best reflects this process. Unlike the period in which Weber wrote, bureaucratization no longer represents the best model of rationalization;  McDonaldization has become the best way of rationalization in modern times.

The type of rationalization that was introduced by McDonaldization, seeks to achieve four main goals: 1) to increase efficiency, 2) to increase measurability, 3) to increase predictability, and 4) to increase control. An additional goal is, where possible, to replace human labor with mechanical labor. McDonald's, through its business model, perfectly achieves four main goals, although it still retains human labor and has not replaced it with mechanical labor. McDonald's has managed to achieve these goals by standardizing every aspect of its business: retail outlets, menus, meal layouts, prefabricated ingredients, food preparation, customer relations, and the like. In addition, McDonald's has perfectly applied Frederick Taylor's workflow rationalization and Ford's model of automation - food is produced as cars are produced on the workbench.

The essence of the process of McDonaldization is the application of these principles and models of work in as many companies as possible, but also in other organizations and institutions (churches, schools, hospitals, courts). Ritzer warns that behind such a formal rationalization of the work process, there is a danger of "the irrationality of rationality". As the main examples of irrationality, Ritzer cites: higher costs, dehumanization, loss of authenticity, increased environmental and health risks, etc. In more recent work, Ritzer examines how Starbucks' business models (coffee sales) and online shopping sites, such as Amazon and eBay, have influenced the McDonaldization process.

When he began to develop his theory of McDonaldization in the 1980s, Ritzer was primarily focused on studying the situation in the United States. He later began to study how the process of McDonaldization is spreading across the planet, and thus becoming part of a broader process of globalization. In addition to the process of McDonaldization, he studies how consumer culture, and the use of credit cards, are becoming global phenomena. In the book Globalization of Nothing (2004), Ritzer takes over the concept of "non-places", which was introduced by anthropologist Marc Augé and further expounds it. Apart from non-places, such as shopping malls and airports, Ritzer believes that there is also a globalization of "non-things" (Gucci bags), "non-people" (costumed characters at Disneyland), and "non-services" (bank ATMs). Ritzer defines "nothing" as something that is controlled and conceived at the central level, and at the same time deprived of specific essential content. Ritzer calls the process of spreading nothing (non-places, non-things, non-people, non-services) "grobalization". Grobalization is the complete opposite of the process of "glocalization" (Robertson).

Main works

An Occupation in Conflict (1969);

Sociology: A Multiple Paradigm Science (1975);

Toward an Integrated Sociological Paradigm: The Search for an Exemplar and an Image of the Subject Matter (1981);

Metatheorizing in Sociology (1991);

The McDonaldization of Society (1993);

Expressing America: A Critique of the Global Credit Card Society (1995);

The McDonaldization Thesis: Explorations and Extensions (1998);

Enchanting a Disenchanted World: Revolutionizing the Means of Consumption (1999);

Explorations in Social Theory: From Metatheorizing to Rationalization (2001);

The Globalization of Nothing (2004);

Encyclopedia of Globalization (2012);

The McDonaldization of Society: Into the Digital Age (2018).