Enchanting a Disenchanted World: Revolutionizing the Means of Consumption

by George Ritzer

Book Overview

In this essential guide to how we now 'consume', George Ritzer provides original and probing insights into the new forms and settings of consumer culture. Ranging from hyper-real Disney worlds to the local shopping mall, these studies of the new 'cathedrals of consumption' will be compelling to anyone interested in the cultural and economic importance of consumption in our society. George Ritzer has established himself as the foremost observer of...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0761985115
• ISBN13: 9780761985112
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Thoughtful and perceptive

This book changed the way I view my own habits of consumption. I found his analysis of contemporary trends in consumption interesting and provocative. Also interesting was his conclusion that as people grow accustomed to the new means of consumption that they have to be continually impressed by something new. I thought his remarks on the architecture of the "cathedrals of consumption" were also very important. The most unsettling aspect of the book was Ritzer's comparison of modern styles of consumption with religious institutions, and even the conformity of religious institutions to this new means of consumption (i.e., the mega-churches of today). It was a good read, too, not too dense or pretentious. Very engaging.

Prepare to feel exploited

Ritzer does a good job of awakening the average consumer to the explotation they are undergoing daily.