Introduction: The McDonaldization of Wine

There are an increasingly large number of voices coming out against the globalization of the economy. Well-structured theories rub shoulders with more eccentric essays. In the last few years, many books have had considerable success, from L’Horreur économique by Viviane Forrester1 to Globalization and its Discontents by Joseph Stiglitz,2 winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics, via No Logo by Naomi Klein.3 Many circles, groups, associations, parties, unions and so on have decried the excesses of the market. Alterg1obalism has, over the years, become a composite movement, but one that is structured, organized around its leaders, heroes, associations and meetings. The development of abundant literature is the sign of a strong trend. In the past, it was possible to look down on, make fun of or simply ignore people like José Bové. Today, it is no longer possible to bypass this fundamental movement which protests against globalization in its current form. Associations such as Attac have thousands of members and an even larger number of sympathizers. The rise in popularity of extreme-left parties in France is far from being a mere epiphenomenon. Another significant fact is that word-formation is very rich too, with ‘McDonaldization’, ‘Disneyization’, ‘McWorldization’, ‘Burger Kingization’,… All these neologisms evoke what can be called the ‘merchandization’ of the world under the American influence.