Does Globalization Diminish Cultural Differences Essay Example For Students

Does Globalization Diminish Cultural Differences Essay Giorgia Frizzi, 23rd July 2010 Globalization, Localization, Glocalization Research Paper. Does globalization weaken cultural diversity or does it foster it? Effects of Globalization in Cultural differentiation 1. Introduction. As some of us may know, the term â€Å"globalize† started being used in the modern times. However globalization as an idea has been brought up since even before the 1500’s when people started forming connections between communities, and therefore creating forms of communication, migration and such between these. And it is probably from these examples that in the modern era we came to call it Globalization which is known for being a process of integration between cultures, societies, economies, etc. Nonetheless, there have been, and there still are, many debates about the real cultural benefits of such global process. There is no argument that when it comes to globalization, culture is indeed a concept of complex controversies. There are many different points of view about how globalization affects cultures and many competing perspectives of cultural homogenization versus cultural differentiation. The positive perspective of cultural globalization is that cultural diversity gives people ample choices and enrichment of learning from different cultures and traditions. We get the chance to choose between globally produced goods, besides local products, without being bound by their geographical location. Critics instead state that there is a depletion of cultural diversity through processes like ‘‘Mcdonaldization’’. Scholars who dislike cultural globalization believe that there is no such thing as Globalization but there is instead a process of cultural imperialism, where the only values and life style spread are the American ones; hence the use of the term Americanization. In these regards, Joschka Fischer, a German politician, claimed I never use the concept, multipolar. I use multilateral. Because we have only one global power: whether you like it or not, this is the United States. The objective of this paper which I am presenting to you is to give a better understanding of the impact that globalization has on multiculturalism or cultural diversity through the use of analysis of the concept of culture and cultural diversity and by measuring facts and indicators that have changed since globalization has started, and to come to the conclusion that even though globalization gives the world some sort of homogenization when it comes to economical matters, the strongest effect is the one that actually enhances cultural identity. . 1 Understanding culture in the era of globalization. Human societies across the world have always tried establishing closer contacts with each other, but in the era of globalization this has increased a lot , thanks to innovations and science which have made the world interdependent , and multi-national companies which have made the world one global market. When trying to understand Globalization , one of the first issues to solve out is th e lack of a universal terminology. In other words, theres no common acceptance of a unique meaning of the concept of Globalization. As in this paper I will try to identify relations between globalization and cultural diversity and the effects of such relations, it would be appropriate to take the concept of culture as a starting point to try and explore the process of change of such concept between certain social groups, caused by globalization. Everyday we hear about cultural and religious conflicts in the world, because people are indeed looking for their cultural roots. Globalization and cultural diversity is strongly discussed among scholars because the situation is more complex than it sounds and it will be helpful to look at it more analytically so on the one hand, we need to understand globalization but on the other, we need to have a clear idea of the concept of culture were here talking about. In the 20th Century scholars defined culture as a shared set of customs, habits, beliefs and ideas that hold people together in recognizable groups. Websters Third New International Dictionary (Gove, 2000) defines culture as the total pattern of human behavior and its products embodied in speech, action, and artifacts and dependent upon mans capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations. I believe that nowadays culture is no longer perceived as some sort of knowledge system we got from our ancestors. Indeed many anthropologists and socialists now perceive culture as the ideas, attributes and expectations that change as people react to changing situations. Indeed, in the 21st century , technology has increased the velocity of social change. For instance the internet and fast communication in general are pretty much destroying cultural boundaries and they are creating the possibility of a global culture. In these regards McLuhan (1962: p. 31) coined the term global village in the 60s referring to the globalization of media. McLuhan shows how the world has turned into a village thanks to electric technology that brings all social functions together and makes us all more aware of our global responsibility. On the other hand it has been considerably argued that globalization might instead foster cultural diversity and give more space to local cultures. Roland Robertson suggests by using the term Glocalization, that locality and with it cultural diversity may be strengthened thanks to globalization. More specifically he describes for instance the process of a product or a service or simply an aspect of life that is developed and spread globally but is also meant to accommodate consumers in local markets, in a way that a global product conforms to local preferences. Global practices are taken differently according to local traditions , the universal takes particular forms , fostering locality. In these regards, well see examples of glocalization in the next pages. Moreover, although theres a tendency of a global lifestyle ,for most people , locality has still a strong importance. As a consequence , because a global culture does not yet exist , it would be quite useless to look for proof of a concept of globalization that levels everything in its path. It would be instead more useful to focus on certain indicators and aspects of peoples life that are being affected by the process of globalization. 2. Some aspects of life affected by Globalization in different parts of the world. In the recent years we have been witnesses of the changes that globalization has brought upon nations around the world, especially in developing countries. While it is true that globalization now is bigger than ever because of all the advancements in technologies around the world, we should also be aware that looking back at historical records, us humans have been looking into globalization for centuries. The developing of old nations has been possible in part with the help of trade with other nations. For example, we can look back at all the trades between Europe and the Americas after its discovery. Or even before with the old Greece and its attempts to expand their culture and language to different territories. All these changes made back then affected different nations in positive as well as in negative ways, and all changes being made now are equally affecting nations in certain aspects of their everyday life. Some of the areas being affected by globalization are: Food, travel, clothing, music, and religion. 2. 1 Food Food is most certainly the oldest motive for global trade. It has been the most important subject in the history of globalization. Particularly after the discovery of the New World when products such as chicken, beef, potatoes, tomatoes, and others of the like were part of the exchanges between these two continents which then became global products. Some of the best cuisines around the world would not have been possible if it was not for trading. Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres tells a dark tale o EssayHenry Wadsworth Longfellow If music is universal than it can definitely be global; and music has really proven to be so. And in this so-called era of globalization, music has gone across the borders of almost every nation around the globe. Music is so important for people worldwide for one obvious reason, which is that you cannot find a person in the world who does not feel identified with some type of music or with the lyrics of a song or even with the singer. Go to a town in Zimbabwe and you might be surprised to find some fans of Coldplay or one of those popular rock bands. This is the work of Globalization and media as its tool. It is nowadays important for the artist to conquer not only national market but international markets as well. 2. 5 Travel Since the migration of people out of Africa, travel has always been crucial to human history. Tourism  and  globalization  are connected to each other , they are interdependent and complementarily benefit each other in many ways. Although the mass tourism and tourism industry only started in the 90s , there were many other forms of travel not for commercial purposes existing since long before. Such as pilgrimage and migration. Today its no surprise anymore to see races and people mixing in one same place and exchanging experiences , ideas, values and opinions while keeping their own cultural identity. Nowadays in the global era tourism and the desire to travel and see other countries has become universal and touristic activities cover several areas of social life. What made tourism raise a lot was also the dramatic decline of the costs of international flights. Whether were diplomats , business people or just regular tourists , we can feel home in any part of the world. When talking about food before , I gave an idea of how going abroad doesnt not involve adapting to foreign food and living arrangements. Just like for food and clothing , Americanization has its influence also on this area of social life. Western-style toilets, showers, restaurant and toilets are now the world standards of touristic facilities and structures and they are what we all want , and expect, when approaching another country as tourists. Though tourism can be a threat to environment and society unless WTO and governments take the right measures to preserve us from it. 3. Does Globalization diminish cultural diversity? Even though I have tried to measure the impacts of globalization on different areas of our lives, from a methodological point of view it is too complex to make clear statements about the causality between globalization and the changes that have occurred within these aspects of world cultures ( food, clothing, religion and all the topics measured above) over time. However, in this paper we did see some of the ways globalization changes cultural identity , but can we really answer the question about whether globalization diminish cultural differences or not? 3. Global homogenization What will we do in a globalised world? All human beings are equal, so they have the same right to have the same lifestyle-the same social security, jobs, education. J. Fischer Many critics like Fischer believe that Globalization is nothing but a synonym of homogenization. Since the break of trade barriers, people use the same kind of goods everywhere in the wo rld. But as we saw , such use is always set in different circumstances and social contexts. For instance, Coke is really popular in the US and in western countries but its rarely sold in India because people can barely afford it. As well in China you can find hundreds KFCs and McDonalds but Chinese local restaurants are still dominant. When it comes to human relationships, there is some kind of uniformity about how people run their businesses and how they relate to each others within production and marketing situations. Thus this uniformity brought by globalization is only partial and limited to material and economic matters of goods used by people and it does affect culture but consumer culture induced by the media and not culture as the senses and purposes that people find in life. . 2 Globalization fosters cultural diversity Globalization requires us to reinvent everything to think of ourselves as compared to others. Nicolas Sarkozy As Deng (2005) points out , cultural identity answers the questions of Who am I? , What do we have? and Where are we going? and just as well as people do build up their identity through their own culture, they will most likely defend it. Indeed, globalization helped bringin g awareness of cultural identity, uniqueness and self. As stated before, its obvious that when it comes to material and economic matters, globalization may lead to homogenization at the expenses of cultural identities , but in a deeper sense it promotes cultural self-awareness and it fosters cultural differences. As Robertson points out , globalization and localization are so connected that we need to coin a new term for such phenomenon glocalization. Thus homogenization is not in conflict with diversity. 3. 3 In Conclusion It really depends on what indicators we use to compare the two sides of the coin. The positive and the negative sides of the influence that globalization has on cultural identity can definitely coexist and homogenization and heterogenization may as well operate in tandem or even reinforce each other (like the case of Indian tradition being kept within McDonalds fast foods in India). Nowadays, globalization is an overwhelming world trend, anti globalists view it as pure homogenization but on the contrary, it can enhance cultural identity. First of all, people are not mere puppets of cultural influences, they are subjects and not objects of it, meaning they can reject or integrate culture. Moreover, with the development of sciences and technology, people are closer to each other than ever before. Globalization brought this sense of closeness, togetherness and unity to the world and this doesnt necessarily need to be in conflict with diversity. Whats very likely to happen is that people are getting much more aware of their own identity and therefore more concerned about the uniqueness and particularity of their own culture and their own traditions. Cultural diversity gives the global meaning of local knowledge and sense of identity, self, community and nation. Its undeniable that when it comes to scientific , technologic and economic development , globalization does reflect the theory of westernization , homogenization and hegemonic control, but in a deeper sense, it promotes cultural identity. Finally, if globalization makes the world more together it also makes it more diverse. Bibliography Bauman, Z. (1998). Globalization: The Human Consequences. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. Deng, N. (2005). On the national literature’s tactics in the globalization’s language environment. Journal of Human Institute of Humanities, Science and Technology, Gills, Barry K. and William R. Thompson. Globalization and Global History. London: Routledge, 2006. Print. BBC McDonalds.   BBC Homepage. 28 Aug. 2001. Web. 1 Aug. 2010. http://www. bbc. co. uk/dna/h2g2/A593525 Gove, Philip Babcock. Websters Third New International Dictionary of the English Language. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 2000. Print. McLuhan, M. (1962):  The G utenberg Galaxy. London: Routledge Kegan Paul Robertson, R. 1992 : Globalization: Social theory and global culture. London:Sage. Featherstone, Mike, Scott Lash, and Roland Robertson. Global Modernities. London: Sage Publications, 1995. Print.