Impact of Globalization on Local Identities - Essay Example

?Impact of Globalization on Local Identities Impact of Globalization on Local Identities Before we get into the impacts of globalization on local identities, we need to be clear as to what globalization is. Globalization can be explained as a process in which growth takes place on a global level and refers to the ever increasing and instant communication across the globe. Globalization is often mentioned in context with international trade and foreign companies, and contemporary economic issues as well. It is the picture perfect integrated transfer of goods and people across the globe. It is the opening up of a country’s economy to the rest of the world and become a part of the global economy. It is the opening up of a country to foreign investment. It is the easy access of a country’s citizens to the rest of the world to travel for business and retreat. Globalization is based on the speculation that countries are not perfect in the manufacture of all goods, every country has some faults therefore it would be best if countries traded globally with each other and export their best products to a country which does not have a good quality of that product. For example, if a country is good at manufacturing something, it would be best for the company to export that good to a country which is not as efficient in the production of that good. Similarly, the latter country could export a particular good at whose manufacture they excel at and export it to the former country if it lacks the manufacturing excellence of that product. It is a win-win situation for all the countries involved. Globalization also pertains to the subscription and application of the rules and procedures set by the World Trade Organization or WTO. WTO looks over the transactions between two trading countries. Globalization is a phenomenon that has gained speed and there won’t be an end to it, and it would benefit the countries greatly who are a part of it (Ritzer G., 2010). As globalization is a global phenomenon, it has affected every aspect of life and every element that is a part of the economy. It has greatly changed the style of living of people throughout the world. Those changes are both negative and positive. Since globalization is access to goods from around the globe, local manufacturers are in the constant fear that they would be out of business because people have easy access to imported goods and that the local manufacturers become less viable. For example, a farmer who lived off by selling his local products made at his small piece of land or the some area allotted to him by the landlord would be put out of place if the same product from a foreign manufacturer is available at a cheaper or a relatively cheaper price. Globalization not only replaces local products with foreign ones and allows easy access to foreign products; it also exposes international cultures to the rest of the world through music, art, literature, movies and poetry etc. This exposure to foreign cultures is a cause of constantly bringing about changes in the local culture, values and traditions. Although there is no general agreement on the affects of globalization on local identities, the general opinion is that exposure to foreign culture upon local identities will minimize the effect of the local identities and they might fade out (Anon 2013). The effect globalization had on the local identities is mostly taken into consideration as negative. Globalization has commonly been represented as the obliteration of the local identities and culture. It can be correlated with the overpowering strength of some foreign cultures which can easily overshadow other cultures with their own. At the outburst of globalization, western consumer culture started to spread at an alarming speed. Critics are of the opinion that even if globalization has led to an increase and improvement in the material aspects of life, it certainly has diminished the cultural and spiritual aspects and they fear if this continues then there would be only one culture left representing the whole world and individual cultural identities would become extinct. And to prove this point technology has in reality managed to create a concept of global culture. The cultural boundaries can be seen being dissolved as more people are getting easy access to the internet, television, cable, fax machines, satellites and radio. Of the many resources, information is the only one which can flow unlimitedly which, when provided in ample amount, people take as means to destroy their cultural identities and adopt foreign identities to give an image of being better than those who are deprived of these facilities. Apart from that, a large number of critics of globalization take fast food as an example to further prove their point. They are persistent upon the point that fast food has been a source to promote global homogeneity in the culinary sector, and that local food is losing its authenticity as a result of diversity being introduced as a result of globalization. This theory is supported by the common concept that globalization is actually ‘Americanization’. This misconception leads to the continuation of the fight against the wealth present in the United States of America with even greater zeal, as the United States of America has been very successful in projecting its culture and getting it adopted by local people without a lot of difficulty. As Gurvitch defines it, culture is an entity composed of many layers (Gurvitch, 1962). The United States of America and other influential countries can be considered as ‘cultural companies’ of the world which mould the concepts, culture and lifestyle of people living across the globe to such extent that even they dreams of goals of the people are influenced and shaped by these cultural companies. This promotes westernization in the name of globalization and promotion of cultural trends, norms and values and practiced an observed in the west, based on ideals originating from the west protected. This promotion is furthermore protected by capitalism and tending of economy towards free enterprise. The question is, will globalization eventually turn out to be westernization? Will the western culture and the global consumer culture dominate and replace the local cultures? Will English be the dominant language around the globe? Will consumer culture eradicate the value of local culture from people? Some analysts and critics have taken all this to mean that globalization is nothing but an extension of the west (Barber B., 1995). For further demonstration of this point we take into account some examples which demonstrate the impact of globalization on local identities. Globalization acts by promoting the strongest cultures and eliminating the weaker ones. Upon analysis it is concluded that this is the result of economical and cultural vulnerability. In October 2005, UNESCO passed a motion against the treatment of cultural goods as commercial ones, as opposed to the World Trade Organization (Mattelart, A., 2005). In his composition Mattelart identifies the basis on which cultural diversity was initially based upon (Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, 2001). According to Manuel Castells, cultural identity of a specific area was not originally present to which globalization is proving to be a threat (Castells, M., 1997). An example will be the pressurizing of the culturally strong west by way of the United States of America against eastern or Islamic culture. The more the west pressurizes the east to destroy the cultural identity and differences the stronger will be the counter reaction to this pressurizing will be. The world renowned newspaper Courrier International took notice of the change in behavior of Islamic Parties and how they came to have access to power in their January 2006 publication. This event was not characterized only by the increased access to power, but also by the change in the course of action taken. Those Islamic groups which were formerly violent and preferred to take a hand on action in every situation were replaced by Islamic political parties which dealt with situations in a verbal manner. Within the Palestinian-Israeli war, the case of Hamas is clear. Hamas has taken an organized political course of action proceeding with an increase in political power as compared to the rest of the Palestinian-Israeli war where democratization is punished severely by western ideals and extremist behavior is resulting in increasing violence. Hamas is making its own identity, its own mark by the usage of foreign methods, politicized by the culture dominant in the west and reinforcing an identity and culture of its own. Globalization can result in any number of courses which may either be reactionary or constructive. They can be based on religion, politics of the area or based socially. The Middle East has formed a combination of these religious, social and political elements to form a highly organized resistance against globalization by the opponents of forces which are driven by the market (Corrier International, 2006). The riots that took place in France in November 2005 suggest that there might be symbolic of an INTERNAL globalization process as a response of which the government of France tried to hold tight the people under the notion of French Republic and its values (Jacques Chirac, 2005). References: Anon. (2013). Globalization vs. Local Cultures. Available: http://www.globalization101.org/globalization-vs-local-cultures/. Last accessed 20th February 2013. BARBER, B., (1995). Jihad vs. McWorld. Times Books. CASTELLS, M., 1997. The Power of Identity, vol II of The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture. Oxford: Blackwell. Courrier International. Islamisme: porquoi il triomphe partout, n.975, January 26th, 2006. Expression used by French President Jacques Chirac during a television intervention, November the 14th, 2005. GURVITCH (1962). Dialectique et Sociologie. Mattelart, A., November 2005. Le Monde Diplomatique. Manifold ways that societies Express Themselves. RITZER, G. (2010). Globalization: a basic text. Malden, MA, Wiley-Blackwell. Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, Paris, November 2001. Read More