Mad Max's Future Of Globalization: Text Analysis

In this final chapter of the text, the reader is provided with a few different theories on the “future of globalization”. I do not think that we are necessarily doomed to living in a “Mad Max” scenario, as presented in the reading. There seems to be a sense of uncertainty present, when looking at the ways in which theorists are projecting the future of globalization. The connection between the economy and globalization is an example of this, with the text describing how when the state of the economy is good, globalization tends to thrive as well (Ritzer & Dean, 2015, p. 441). In the “Mad Max” scenario, individuals are described as reverting back to “violent ways of life,” with society experiencing “ever-accelerating crises in the capitalist economy” (Ritzer & Dean, 2015, p. 442).

We have seen different trends in globalization over the past 50-100 years, with some periods being marked by economic prosperity (such as during pre-WWI U.S.), and other times of economic

An increase in oil prices, battles over food where overpopulation has become an issue, declining supply of fresh water, and even nuclear wars are said to be the possible elements of a Mad Max society (Ritzer & Dean, 2015, p. 442). The authors do acknowledge that this view of the future of globalization is rather “extreme”, however, they suggest that elements of a Mad Max society have been present around the same time that various eras of globalization were changing (such as with the Great Depression). I interpret a Mad Max society as being characterized, also, by a significant increase in social inequalities, such as racism and sexism. If social structures, such as economic institutions are contributing to the chaos of Mad Max societies, it makes sense that social unrest would also occur. There would most likely be an impact on politics, as seen during the Great Depression with Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal