Globalization has become one of the defining buzzwords of our time--a term that describes a variety of complex economic, political, cultural, ideological, and environmental forces that are rapidly altering our experience of the world. In clear, accessible language, Manfred B. Steger goes beyond a narrow economic focus to cover all the major causes and consequences of globalization as well as the hotly contested question of whether globalization is, ultimately, a good or a bad thing. This new edition has been fully updated, incorporating all the major global developments in the past four years, including the 2008-2010 global financial crisis, the 2011 Japanese earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster, the 2011 killing of Osama bin Laden, the on-going revolutions in the Middle East, and the rise of social networking such as Facebook and Twitter. The book also examines political movements both for and against globalization, from WTO protests to the rise in global jihadism; considers such concepts as "Americanization" and "McDonaldization"; and explores the role of the media and communication technologies in the process of cultural globalization. Finally, Steger explains in accessible language the connection between economic globalization and multinational corporations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization.