Impact of Cultural Globalisation Flashcards
how is cultural and economic globalisation linked?
cultural globalisation underpins the spread of global capitalism by promoting consumerism and propagating appetites, values and lifestyles that make market economies appear natural and unchallengeable
both have been greatly enhanced by technological innovation such as the advent of television, mobile phones, computers and the internet, as well as the emergence of media empires such as Disney
negatives of consumerism (and therefore a negative of cultural globalisation)
cultural globalisation has led to the spread of consumerism, which is criticised for three main reasons by anti-globalisation movements
1) consumerism is a device used by TNCs to expand their influence and profitability, ensuring that ascendancy within the new globalised economy
in No Logo (2000), Naomi Klein (a Canadian journalist and anticorporate activist) drew attention to what she called the tyranny of ‘brand culture’
2) consumerism has been condemned as an assault on local, regional and national distinctiveness — creating a world in which everything looks the same and everyone thinks and acts the same, which is a world without a sense of belonging
3) consumerism and materialism and have been associated with the process of manipulation that distorts values and denies happiness — this occurs through the tendency of advertising and marketing to create false needs, keeping people in a state of constant neediness and want
how has cultural globalisation led to consumerism and individualism?
consumer capitalism has been shaped by the development of new advertising and marketing techniques that took advantage of the growth of the mass media and the spread of mass affluent
the spread of industrial capitalism, first in western societies and then, due to globalisation, in other parts of the world has confronted people with a broader range of choices and social possibilities
thus encouraging them to think for themselves and think of themselves in personal terms, therefore leading to the spread of individualism
the spread of individualism has also been linked to developments like the advance of democracy (by 2003 63% of the world states exhibited some features of liberal democratic governance) and the wider acceptance of human rights as the dominant principle in international affairs — both of which have been made possible by cultural globalisation
cultural globalisation as a form of cultural imperialism (criticism of cultural globalisation)
many critics of cultural globalisation emphasise that cultural flows take place between unequal partners, and so allow powerful states to exert domination over weaker states
in this view, cultural globalisation is a form of cultural imperialism which tends to have a markedly western or more specifically American character
this idea that globalisation is merely Westernisation comes from the fact that the West is home to the consumer capitalism and industrial society that has been spread across the world
cultural globalisation is arguably Americanisation as a disproportionate amount of goods and images that dominate modern commerce and the global media derive from the USA
this spread of US norms and lifestyles overwhelms more vulnerable cultures, leading. for instance, to Palestinian youths wearing Chicago Bulls sweatshirts
how has cultural globalisation strengthened local cultures? or led to more diversity rather than cultural flattening?
cultural exchange is by no means a top-down or one-way process
instead, all societies, including economically and politically powerful ones, have become more varied and diverse as a result of the emergence of a globalised culture
Western societies have been influenced by non-western religions, food (such as curries, soy sauce, tortillas) medicines and therapeutic practices (such as acupuncture, yoga, Buddhist meditation) and sports (such as judo, karate and kick boxing)
aspects of non-Western cultures have become popular in Western societies
key terms….
• Americanisation
• Asian values
• cultural imperialism
Americanisation = the political and economic dominance of the USA and the spread of American cultural values to other parts of the world
Asian values = values that reflect the history, culture and religious backgrounds of Asian societies, examples include social harmony, respect for authority and a belief in the family
cultural imperialism = the displacement of indigenous cultures by the imposition of beliefs, values and attitudes usually associated with consolidating or legitimising economic and political domination
has cultural globalisation reshaped world politics?
NO
• some countries have resisted individualism and therefore have not been changed or reshaped by cultural globalisation
• it strengthens local culture is therefore not reshaping world politics, simply strengthening existing norms
YES
• led to the spread of consumerism
- led to the spread of individualism
- contributed to the rise of militant Islam, which defines today’s world politics
- led to more diversity in all societies
is globalisation simply Americanisation?
YES
the USA dominates the world in terms of its cultural outreach — American style clothing is seen everywhere and US festivals such as Halloween now have a global following
American inspired products and styles dominate global brand culture and monopolise global markets, creating a uniform culture based on that in the US
the 10 most profitable films in history, led by Avatar, are American, the top 10 global restaurant chains are all US-led (including McDonald’s, KFC and Subway), the 10 most admired companies in the world are US-led (including Apple and Google), 4 of the top 5 most visited websites are American (including Google, Facebook and YouTube)
US brands have global outreach — e.g. the equivalent of 20% of the world’s population drinks a Coca-Cola product every day
the USA is the dominant global economy, representing 22% of global GDP in 2016 and the free trade principles, fostered by the Washington Consensus and advances by the WTO, IMF and World Bank, have dominated the globe
US global troop deployments are unparalleled, further extending US interests and ideals — there are a total of 130,000 US troops stationed around the world, including 34,000 in Germany and 24,000 in South Korea
is globalisation simply Americanisation?
NO
the internet has provided new opportunities to challenge the USA’s cultural outreach, which provides a level playing field in which the USA competes equally with other nations and ideologies
the mega-hit Gangnam Style by South Korean popstar Pay reached 2.74 billion hits in 2017, making it the most watched video on YouTube
the most popular global television show in 2015 was the UK’s top gear, one of the most popular global sports is cricket (2.5 billion fans), British values have a global appeal through the worldwide popularity of television programmes like Downton Abbey and Sherlock and the Harry Potter books and films
rival news channels such as the BBC and Al Jazeera challenge the influence of CNN
the USA’s soft power influence is regularly challenged by the UK (first place, 2015) and Germany (first place, 2013)
the carnage that resulted from the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, including detention at Guantanamo Bay and the atrocities at Abu Ghraib, have undermined US global influence
the USA’s global popularity is changing — in 2015 only 44% of Chinese had a positive view of the USA and 49% had a negative view, while in Russia just 15% had a positive view and 81% had a negative view
China has become the biggest global investor in other countries, the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is designed to challenge the dominance of the World Bank in the developing world, the Chinese firm Sinopec is now the world’s wealthiest business
President Trump’s commitment to ‘America first’ and his executive order withdrawing the USA from the Trans-Pacific Partnership suggest that the country now feels it has become the victim of, rather than the driving force behind, economic globalisation
to what extent has globalisation created a global monoculture?
CULTURAL HOMOGENISATION
cultural homogenisation is the process by which cultural differences are flattened out, encouraging the development of a more uniform global culture
it has been claimed that the spread of global consumer culture has undermined the significance of national boundaries in determining the culture of a nationstate
this has led to cultural homogenisation and created a global monoculture
what makes a society, culture or civilisation unique is therefore lost through conformity to certain global cultural norms
the internet has further reinforced the potential for global monoculture by creating a worldwide audience for popular celebrities, trends and products
to what extent has globalisation created a global monoculture?
GLOCALISATION
glocalisation has enabled local communities to mould global brands to their own culture
this suggests that globalisation allows global influences to adapt to local conditions, thus creating a new distinctive culture rather than blending into a monoculture
the Balti curry was developed in Birmingham and is a mixture of Indian and British-Asian influences
chicken tikka is similarly British in origin and has frequently topped polls as the UK’s favourite food
famous brands such as McDonald’s have adapted to local conditions, serving lobster burgers in Canada and vegetarian burgers to the Hindu market in India
Bollywood has taken influence from Hollywood, while adding distinctly Indian glamour and romance
this challenges the view that globalisation is creating a global monoculture
to what extent has globalisation created a global monoculture?
REINFORCING NATIONAL IDENTITIES
cultural globalisation has created a negative backlash, actually reinforcing ethnic and national identities rather than contributing towards a global monoculture or encouraging tolerance or diversity
rather than bringing the world closer together, globalisation is doing the exact opposite by stirring resentment against what many regard as cultural imperialism and Americanisation
the reaction against cultural homogenisation and a fear of loss of identity has led to the rise of identity politics, through which nation states seek to define themselves according to their own unique characteristics
this can be seen today across Europe with the rise of political parties and leaders who achieve popularity by emphasising the distinctiveness of their own own culture, with promises to safeguard it from being absorbed into a global monoculture
in Hungary, Victor Orben has generated huge appeal by emphasising the country’s Christian heritage as a frontier state resisting Muslim advance and in the Netherlands Geert Wilders has said that Islam can have no place in Dutch society
in the UK, the surge in support for UKIP during the 2015 general election indicated a more nationalistic mind set among voters and the 2016 Brexit vote suggests that many viewed European integration as a threat to the British ‘way of life’
in the US, Trump’s executive order to build a wall along the Mexican border as well as indefinitely banning Syrian refugees and prioritising the rights of Christian over Muslim refugees can be seen as a resistance against the development of a ‘global monoculture’ and an attempt to preserve ‘traditional American values’
to what extent has globalisation created a global monoculture?
CLASH OF CIVILISATIONS
in his 1996 hypothesis, the Clash of Civilisations, Samuel Huntington acknowledged that cultural globalisation can actually create a reaction against a global monoculture because threatened cultures seek to reassert their own values in defiance of Coca-Colonisation
other civilisations have sought to protect their own identity through characterising their values are superior to those of the west and rejecting western values
for example, the right to determine one’s sexuality is now accepted throughout much of western Europe, but gay sex is still illegal in 72 countries and is punishable by the death-penalty in 10
the President of Uganda has condemned western tolerance of homosexuality, declaring it “disgusting” and “un-African”
in Russia there has been a resurgence of national identity during the Putin years, closely associated with Slavic Pride and the moral conservativism of the Orthodox Church
in his State of Union address in 2014, Putin accused American liberalism and consumerism of leading to “a path of degradation”
to what extent has globalisation created a global monoculture?
ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM
cultural globalisation has often been seen as a threat to Islam, with some militant branches of Islam seeking to oppose Western values rather than accommodate them
the growth of Islamic fundamentalism is the most striking example of the rise of identity politics as a reaction against cultural homogenisation
it views western culture as morally bankrupt and overly materialistic, contrasting to the purity of Islam
it has spread in North Africa and Afghanistan from the 1980s onwards and has broadened as a result of the western invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq
the so-called Islamic State is another manifestation of how cultures that may feel threatened seek to restore their sense of uniqueness in response to the perceived cultural imperialism of globalisation
to what extent has globalisation created a global monoculture?
COCA-COLONISATION
Brendan Barber has termed the materialism that cultural globalisation encourages as ‘Coca-Colonisation’
Naomi Klein has referred to ‘commodity fetishism’, whereby we become so obsessed with materialism and brand culture that we undermine the uniqueness of our own culture
brands such as Hollister, Nike, Apple and Microsoft are globally recognised
globally, 50% of internet traffic and 40% of radio programmes are in English
according to Barber, this has created a ‘McWorld’ culture in which people all over the world crave the same sort of materialistic fulfilment, enjoy the same sort of entertainment and eat the same sort of Americanised food
the 10 most successful global restaurant chains and the 10 most profitable films in history are all American
according to Fortune, in 2015, 8 of the top 10 most admired brands in the world were American
the global domination of certain brands and the desire to emulate US standards of dress, food and entertainment has led to the diluting of distinct cultures and the development of a monoculture
