Globaloney: Unraveling the Myths of Globalization

What's the truth about globalization . . . and what's just 'globaloney?' Michael Veseth believes that much of what students understand about globalization is really globaloney-bombast built on a few vivid images and exceptional cases that distort more than they reveal about the world around us. Globaloney separates rhetoric from reality by snapping close-ups of the classic globalization images and comparing them with unexpected alternative visions that resonate with culturally savvy college-aged readers. Do Michael Jordan and Nike really define globalization? Why not David Beckham and World Cup soccer? Is globalization McDonalds and McWorld? Why isn't the global wine market a better metaphor? And what can we learn about how globalization works at the grassroots by comparing the elitist, publicity-hungry Slow Food movement with the massive but virtually invisible international trade in worn and wrinkled second-hand clothes? Veseth convincingly explains how all globalization is local, why the French so love to hate it, and what Adam Smith has to do with it. The book shows why it is dangerous to generalize about globalization and, through its wealth of examples, demonstrates that globalization is not one big thing but many different yet related, particular things. An ideal supplement for courses on international political economy and international relations, Globaloney is an irreverent but important look at how globalization really works.