Question

Does globalization necessarily have a homogenizing effect? What are the factors for and against that tendency? Illustrate your answer with examples.

Answer 1

Yes. Globalization to an extent can cause cultural homogenization. The major factors that contribute to this will be discussed below.

Homogenization in this context refers to the reduction in cultural diversity. It is also the process by which local cultures get absorbed into a major dominant culture. This occurred because in globalization, the people tend to focus more on the dominant cultures as being more popular and they begin to adopt the elements that are representing the dominant culture. This can be illustrated with the example on Non-American cultures affecting the West including world music and Non American TV shows etc.(Japanese comics, Indian Bollywood) and also certain religions( Buddhism,Islam).The opposite of this would be homogenization: as the local cultures are adopting the elements that we can see in the Western culture such as way of dressing, cuisine etc. By looking at the fast food menu in a usual restaurant, we can see that many of the dishes have been "borrowed" from other cultures. Homogenization assumes there is only a one way flow from the West to the rest of the world. Another example is , take any company frromCoca Cola to Facebook- We would feel their presence every day in most countries. Another factor that we can consider would be the evolution of mass media in globalization which will cause the people to be more aware regarding the different cultures that exist and the popularization of Western cultures have created a tendency for homogenization.

In other words, it has also caused us to develop traits such as cooperation,seeki seeking affiliation and coordination of our activities which also evolved our willing to trade and exchange goods. Related to this , the dominant demographic trend of the next century would be the movement of people from the poorer to the richer regions of the world. Diverse people will be brought together in a much faster rate than the time required for them to be culturally Integrated. This would be an era of conflicts but then again, the society is designed in a way to cooperate and thus the changing trends can be handled.