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In the first half of the twentieth century, Theodor Adorno wrote about the 'culture industry'. For Adorno not just the products of factory labour, but culture itself were increasingly becoming commodities. Now, in what they call the 'global culture industry', Scott Lash and Celia Lury argue that Adorno's worst nightmares have come true. Their brilliant new book tells the compelling story of how material objects such as watches and sports wear have become powerful cultural symbols, and how the production of symbols, in the form of globally recognized brands, has now become a central goal of capitalism. Global Culture Industry provides an empirically and theoretically rich examination of the ways in which these objects - from Nike shoes to Toy Story, from global football to conceptual art - metamorphose and move across national borders.This book is set to become a Dialectic of Enlightenment for the age of globalization. It will be essential reading for students and scholars across the social sciences.