Globalization versus Americanization - Essay Example

Globalization versus Americanization Client Inserts His/her Name Client Inserts Grade Course Client Inserts Tutor’s Name 11/04/2012 Globalization is a term used to refer to various international relationships that are increasing day in day out (Steger 2003). Globalization began early in history but realization of its significance in altering various lifestyles happened during the period of industrialization. This is after noting that each nation had its own specialization and that one nation’s services were needed elsewhere. The various relationships include cultural values exchanges, emigration and immigration of people and sharing the most important economic values across borders as these are boosted by the rapidly growing international trade. In terms of culture flux, there has been adoption of alien ways of life. Economically, various ideologies are now and then imported or exported due to the opening the many exchange corridors that have been engineered to a great extent by the recently improved technologies and the reduction of various inter-country barriers. All in all, globalization presents both beneficial attributes and also challenges. By allowing various investors from external world to invest in a particular country yet setting unrestricting conditions by making strong and long lasting policies that favor enlargement of local markets, a nation may largely benefit from international interactions and minimize the challenges they may pose. Nowadays it is possible to communicate to every corner of the globe while sitting down. Various businessmen do their transactions online. The various social networks including the emails and the glorious era of mobile phones, international interactions rates remain at its highest. Virtually, we are moving towards living in a borderless world (Behrens 2010). Globalization has in a major way taken the form where many nations have taken all of their efforts towards maintaining corresponding ties with the top world’s economy, the United States of America. The mere interaction with the latter has evidently proved availability of a large market for the mostly natural cultures and products, connections to the highest technology hub and a chance to lean on the world’s superpower. In general this has lead to a process of Americanization, a process described by the vast immigration to the United States of America where people are prone to sharing American values, beliefs and customs and inevitably becomes assimilated into American society. There are a number of factors that have lead to the United States’ charming popularity (Susan 2002). The United States of America’s population has from past been composed of adventurers. This has led to its production of the highest number of tourists who visit every corner of the globe. On arrival, these tourists deposit American values and lifestyles. These in turn make the destination countries direct all their efforts towards developing standards that continue attracting the highly needed visitors by establishing classy hotels and peaceful stay assurance policies as they are the key beneficiaries in the interaction (Behrens 2010). The United States of America’s currency, the U.S. dollar, has for long been used as a measure of almost every country’s economic status by comparison. This makes the country’s mention order of the day each time analyses of various other countries’ economies become a topic. Various technological happenings in the rich history of the U.S.’s have given the country colossal recognition as the world’s top ranking technology base. The famous historical event of the first man to land on the moon obviously backed by detailed scientific knowhow and occurring in the middle of the 20th century automatically exhibits an early technological evolution in the country. The country has the most sophisticated security system which together with the long period of political stability and highly rated civilization levels directly reflects a politically stable and secure country for various venture quests. Except for short term time to time restrictions to enter the United States due to various reasons like security, the country has highly encouraged people with different interests worldwide to visit the country. Due to provision of high quality educational facilities hand in hand with various top class amenities as well as well paying jobs, many people across the globe live and work in America. Such people scoop with them western cultural values and shed them in their native countries (Steger 2003). Most of the developing countries have always extended their dependency to the rich western countries. The U.S.A. has been a major donor in the subject and this has led the poor countries to the tendency to establish loyal relationships with the country. This makes these demanding countries to accept many of propositions put forward by the U.S. Unavoidably then; the latter becomes popular among the poor countries and among the world’s donor organizations. All these remarkable observations among others render the U.S. the most popular country in the world. Therefore most countries automatically have taken fancy to the urge of becoming associated with the country. This comes arm in arm with adopting this county’s values and gradually the other countries become to a great extent Americanized. Major international linkages thus prove to include the U.S., making the term globalization to mean more or less Americanization (Susan 2002). To well relate and to confide in the meaning of globalization as that of Americanization, it is better to focus on a typical example of a country that has been a real subject to Americanization. China comes in an example. The most populated country has continued to absorb Western culture. In the past times, China had greatly maintained its traditional set up, that had been well cultured, maintained and dearly supported by the Communist leadership of China retains no more natural taste. The American fast-food restaurants for instance have rapidly mushroomed all over the major urban centres of China greatly has greatly drowned the earlier feeding habits of the Chinese. Other examples include (Steger 2003). The vast American bars largely opened in China mainly play American music which comes in rich with portrayal of American ways of life. This has affected native bars which has great urge to attract the many American inhabitants as well as the visitors who will certainly flock in such places. The end result is American habits adoption as a signal to show the visitors that their visit is highly embraced. Again, development of such entertainment centres as well as the high rate of establishment of American supermarkets and shopping malls all over forces introduction and selling of American products and brands to cater for the immediate demand. Levis, Madonna, Marlboro cigarettes, cool cars and loud rock music are just but a few examples, while Colgate toothpaste proves one of the best selling China’s imports. All these heighten the chance of appreciating and adopting external (U.S.) values and thus alienation (Behrens 2010). For ages and up to now, the national language of China has been Chinese. However, lately English language is largely studied in China with great number of students vying to study the language. This has come into being especially after the Olympics of 2008 took place in China. The mere fact that English language is gaining popularity here makes it safe to say that the country is undoubtedly becoming westernized. The movement of the Chinese to the U.S. began in the mid of the 19th century. At this time, the U.S. government highly required manual labourers to work on the railway lines that were in their tender periods of establishment. Chinese then rapidly flocked in the U.S. where they provided cheap labour (Bernfeld 2000). After the work was completed, some of the Chinese remained in the U.S. as casual labourers while the largest number went back home. Since then, there have been other two major episodes that involved massive immigration of the Chinese into the U.S. This gives a wider picture of the early Chinese-American interaction. Once one stays in a foreign country for a substantial amount of time, one is forced by various circumstances to adopt the values encountered and did so the Chinese who led to the birth of the Chinese-American community. The latter automatically led to a deep interrelationship between the two nations. The Chinese-American community bore the inter-trade of the two countries’ different cultural values (Susan 2002). Presently, a great number of the Chinese live and work in the U.S. As most of the Chinese are specialized in specific fields, they provide large numbers of experts who are needed everywhere in the world. A good score of these works in America. All these interaction corridors lead to bleaching of the Chinese culture and things are presently turning American way day in day out. It is good to note that the U.S. don’t necessarily undergo cultural change – only other countries copy the U.S.’s way of life. A good number of Chinese students doing their graduate and post graduate degrees study in the U.S. Keeping in mind that these students are the future leaders in China, and having scooped the U.S. culture with them, one can easily predict what will define the status of the Chinese culture and values in the near future (Behrens 2010). China, having still retained some good bits of the popular and renowned Chinese cultures like the use of traditional medicine as well as the many monumental and scenic features, American tourists flock here and gradually bring Western culture with them. In the name of globalization, it is clear that most of nations of the world are at high rates adopting the American way of life which without favouritism whatsoever appears as the living style in fashion worldwide. Virtually every country has particular friendly, political or financial aid relationship with the U.S. These relations in the long run bleach these countries’ ways of life. It is well in place therefore to say that the largest ‘portion’ of globalization actually means Americanization (Bernfeld 2000). List of References Behrens, H., 2010. Globalization vibrates the 21st century. Lithaus: Lithaus Uni-Edition. Bernfeld, B., 2000. Asian Pacific Americans-enriching the evolving American culture, [Online]. Available at: [Accessed 11 March 2012]. Steger, M., 2003. Globalization: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Susan, L.C., 2002. The Chinese in America: A History from Gold Mountain to the New Millennium. Lanham: Altamira Press. Read More