The Culture of Capitalism Does Not Help Our Ability to Live in a Multicultural World - Essay Example

Essay questions The culture of capitalism does not at all help our ability to live in a multicultural world. However, according to Robbins (2002) understanding, it defines sets of people who behave in accordance to a set of rules and act as they must act… “The culture of capitalism is devoted to encouraging the production and sale of commodities. For capitalists, the culture encourages the accumulation of profit; for laborers, it encourages the accumulation of wages; for consumers, it encourages the accumulation of good.” It should be noted that this culture has undergone through historical changes way back from pre-capitalist societies, capitalist societies, mercantilism as well as neoliberalism it can also be changed to suit the changing trends in market economy. To improve on our ability to live in a multicultural world; we should have a keen attention on our consumption patterns, have knowledge on circumstances and impacts of what we consume to enable us act responsibly. This will give us room to be able to join others in challenging inequity and injustice brought about with the capitalists to laborers and consumers. This is because the intrinsic nature of man will not allow others to also benefit the same, instead, the capitalists will continue with their spirit of accumulation not considering the working conditions of the laborers and consumers not able to have the right quality of goods that they are suppose to have in the name of cultural capitalism across the globe (Sorrells 177). Since cultural and ethnic diversity is not a new phenomenon; the argument of the three scholars about difference is that people should accept the reality and desirability of diversity and then be able to structure political and economic life accordingly. The difference is only created by the few individuals whose motives are only embedded in a capitalist system that which is organized around competition over the scarce resources, domination, identity and self-centered ambitions. Therefore, what is more important is a notion of the common good to any political society; from a multicultural perspective, this common good must be generated not by transcending or ignoring cultural and other differences, but through their interplay in a dialogical, agonistic political life (Allan 52). A sense of belonging must ultimately be political, based on a shared commitment to a political community. Since commitment, or belonging, must be reciprocal, citizen will not feel these things unless their political community is also committed to them and makes them feel that they belong. The link between social inequality and the difference affects the development of a multicultural world because some form of cultural identity and belongings seems unavoidable; this is because we grow up in a culturally structured world, the world is deeply shaped by a variety of cultures, therefore it is necessary to view the world from within a specific culture. Moreover, culture cannot be understood as static, eternally given, essentialist. It is always evolving, dynamic and hybrid of necessity due to the changing time as well as scope. Cultural diversity as a positive and intercultural dialogue is a necessary element of culturally diverse societies because no culture is perfect or can be perfected, but all cultures do learn and contribute to each other (Sandercock 82). What is usually seen as the difference is the unfinished decolonization project of the West and unresolved post-colonial condition. A sense of belonging in a multicultural society cannot be based on race, religion, or ethnicity but needs to be based on a shared commitment to political community and such commitment requires an empowered citizenry which has not been the case hence affecting the development of a more multicultural world. Criminalization and health care provision was clearly demonstrated about structural inequality; Victor Rios in his work presents the Latino migrants boy who are poor, medically uninsured, sexually stigmatized, people of color, the physically disabled, the incarcerated as well as those with drug and alcohol problems. The boys found themselves in a vicious cycle, caught in a spiral of punishment, profiled, watched and disciplined at tender ages even before they had committed any crimes, eventually leading many of them to fulfill the destiny expected of them (Fadiman 77). While on the other hand Anne Fadiman portrays how cultural barrier between the Lia Lee families and the western practitioners has led to the vegetative since a successful treatment plan never came to fruition. The immigrants do not totally hold on western medicine because to them it is very persistent and can cause them to lose their souls. According to them, biomedical practices such as surgery, anesthesia, autopsies and repeated blood samples can cause the soul to wander, as well as various illnesses, death, and the possibility that the person will be physically incomplete, once they are reincarnated because body is essentially being tampered with; which is why they found it hard to go to hospitals to seek treatment from doctors. I strongly think that it should not only be the work of medical doctors to help in the execution of the transformation process, but many forces need to be in alignment for the transformation to be successful. These include new ideas about economic development, new discourses about identity and belonging, new sources of funding for community-based programs, new institutional arrangements within city council, and between council and the variety of ethno-cultural capital networks (Rios 43). The effort of social transformation is a necessarily combined effort, by residents, planners, and politicians at local, state and national levels. It is important to note that effort is not all about mobilizing resources and power, and changing institutions, but also about organizing hope, negotiating fears, mediating collective memories of identity and belonging, and daring to take risk. If all these are put into consideration based on the fact that culture is not static and always evolve, these two scenarios should be given more time while trying to incorporate all the stakeholders in working toward achieving a multicultural world; a world where everyone feels recognized hence developing a sense of belong and doing away with the differences. And as a matter of fact we can manage our co-existence in the shared spaces of the multicultural cities of the 21st century. Works cited Allan G Johnson (2006). Privilege, power, and difference. Fadiman (1997).The spirit catches you and you fall down Rios (2011).Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys Sandercock (2003).Mongrel Cities and Transformative planning Sorrells Kathryns (2013). Intercultural communication. Globalization and social justice. Read More