George Ritzer

"The ways in which these economic processes, largely originating in the US, have, in short order, flowed around the world is breathtaking and, unfortunately, well illustrates this book's major themes."

"Marx's insight of a century-and-a-half ago was not only highly prescient, but is far truer today than in Marx's day."

"One important point about the idea that there are multiple globalizations is the fact that it further complicates the whole idea of finding a point of origin for globalization."

"The polar view, as it was for Marx, is that it was not material factors, but rather ideal factors, that are the main drivers of globalization."

"Cultural imperialism involved, among many other things, exploration, missionary and humanitarian missions, travel, and the use of education and publishing to disseminate European ideas."

"In the end, the key point is that in gaining a better understanding of these processes, we gain a more nuanced and sophisticated sense of the fundamental nature of globalization."

"One cannot understand globalization, and many of its problems, without understanding neo-liberalism."

"Free markets induce a natural collective reaction by society."

"It was the mass sale and distribution of novels and newspapers that was critical to the rise of the imagined nation."

"While the US was hegemonic in the era of geopolitics, it is greatly weakened as globalization competes with, and gains ascendancy over, geopolitics."

"If states themselves are less able to handle various responsibilities, this leaves open the possibility of the emergence of some form of global governance to fill the void."

"The system is run by the few with the few as the main beneficiaries. Most of the people in the world have no say in these systems and are either not helped or are adversely affected by them."

"Globalization can also be seen as flow of "nothing" (as opposed to "something"), involving the spread of non-places, non-things, non-people and non-services."

"What defines Web 2.0 is the fact that the material on it is generated by the users (consumers) rather than the producers of the system. Thus, those who operate on Web 2.0 can be called prosumers because they simultaneously produce what they consume such as the interaction on Facebook and the entries on Wikipedia."

"It is increasingly difficult to find examples of warfare that are unaffected by globalization."

"It is also often argued that neo-liberalism, especially neo-liberal economics, helps those in the advantaged categories and hurts, often badly, those in the disadvantaged categories."

"Globalization reinforces preexisting gender structures, barriers, and relationships, only now on a global scale."

"Of course, it remains to be seen what the effect of the Great Recession will be on resistance to globalization. It seems clear, however, that if the recession grows deeper and extends over a long period of time, it will spur much greater resistance to globalization."