Cultural Globalization: The Pros And Cons Of Cultural Globalization

For some people, globalization is so feared it is synonymous with world destruction. In the end, for all we know, maybe this will be proven before it is over. In reality however, there are many good things that have resulted from globalization(1, Premise). Let’s for a moment focus on the economy, even though there are many other advantages that have been brought forward that will also be discussed. Many Americans do not appreciate how efficient our markets are, in this case efficiency in reference to supply and demand is number one. These efficient markets allow economies to grow. As many have learned in a global world, when one economy grows, it spurs growth in all the other economies

That this was also the decade in which globalization came into full swing is more than a minor inconvenience for its advocates” (Rodrick). If globalization is supposed to present an advantage to developing countries, why have there been so many setbacks? Indeed, both sides will have its winners and losers regardless of which side of the development coin they live on, but for the most part globalization has lifted millions out of poverty, improved the standard of living, and increased life expectancy rates all while keeping developed nations relatively competitive to their developing counterparts. Globalization’s value is that it seeks to create an economic equilibrium in the world, where parties are free from barriers and can benefit from one another through a more efficient allocation of resources. This allows all participating nations to contribute to an integrated economy and where all nations willing to embrace globalization have the potential to benefit. Regardless, the path to successful integration to the global economy has not always been easy. There is contention towards globalization as some argue that it is detrimental to developed nations, while many developing countries that were forced to hastily open up their markets and integrate failed. However, if implemented properly, globalization has proven that it can benefit all parties involved and that the potential gains outweigh the losses.

During the last decade of the twentieth century, the word ‘globalization’ has become an increasingly prominent feature of political, social, and economic discussion in academic and policymaking circles, as well as in the media. The processes and outcomes of globalization drew attention and debates that had one thing in common. The research shows that nearly everyone agrees that globalization is a trend that is changing the face of the world, and as a result the world society lives in a more ‘globalized’ world. Nearly two and a half decades passed since 1990s, and studies have been conducted to examine the causes and consequences of globalization. Moreover, nearly every person experiences some type of globalization and can testify firsthand the effects it has on their life, society, and the state. The analysis of the effects that globalization dynamics have on the world society indicates that globalization has a significant positive impact via spreading opportunities and wealth across nations, stimulating innovation and productivity, enhancing the economic development of poorer countries, and helping to improve living standards.

People have been on the move, traded, migrated and colonized in the earlier times; while in the process they transformed both places that they traveled to and the places that they came from. The pro-globalization people say that it is not just good for the rich but it’s good for the poor, because back in the 1990’s, when globalization took off, about 200 million people got out of poverty in places like India and China. Globalization is the process by which economies of countries around the world become increasingly integrated over time. Supporters of this topic argued that it is both good and beneficial because it has created outsourcing, for example, customer support, marketing, software development, insurance and accounting.

It is fair to say that the impact of globalization in the cultural sphere has, most

Globalization has had both a positive and negative impact throughout the world. An interconnectedness within the world where complicated issues can arise creating an unevenness that can contribute to a societies as well as the individuals happiness in life (El-Ojelli, 2006:p1). The negative impacts of

The International Monetary Fund describes globalization in an economical sense by saying that globalization is the growing economic interdependence of countries around the world through accumulating volume and diversity of cross-border transactions in products and services, rapid and extensive dispersion of technology, and more open international capital flows (IMF,

“Globalization is not just one impact of the new technologies that are reshaping the economies of the third millennium” (Thurow 19-31). When speaking of globalization, most people will not have a complete understanding as of what it actually means or what aspects of the world it affects. Globalization promotes free trade and creates jobs. The capital markets attract investors, resort cheap labor, and leads to job losses in some areas of higher wage. While all of this is happening, the world economy is being effected: economically, culturally, socially, and politically.

Economic globalization is the growing integration of world markets and the intensifying interdependence of global economies. The process has social and economic costs as well as benefits. The process is both critiqued and lauded by scholars. On one hand it provides opportunities and growth while on the other hand it creates an unequal distribution of wealth also while hurting workers rights.

Cultural imperialism, the main focus of globalisation is defined as the domination of culture from some countries to the rest of the world (Tobin, 2016). It could be the cultural goods flow to the other countries, normally from the more influential or stronger countries such as the United States and some Western countries which inculcating their values through the goods or advertisements. For instance, the origin of Starbucks, McDonald’s, and

Cultural globalization supposes, not only empiric human contacts among civilizations (transporter revolution), but also intellectual instruments of understanding among contact groups in a more or less brutal manner. Let us call humanist sciences those intellectual instruments, having a wide enough meaning: history, philology, linguistics, archeology, sociology, philosophy.

The improvement of the technology has led to the rate at which the exchange of information take place in very high rate and with it comes a high rate of cultural exchange. Moreover, this high-speed exchange of content, the market for media based content has also broadened (DeRosa, 2013). It has now become far much easier for people in a particular region to be exposed to new cultural experiences particularly through the media of film. Besides, the improvement of the technology in mass media, the consumers have also had an added advantage in the form of increased power of choice and are no longer confined to local content. This is an eventuality that has seen people exposed to other cultures, and this has been the basis for the new norm called cultural globalization (Yong Jin, 2012). However, with every positive gain, there are usually some element of drawbacks, and the situation with the improvement of media coverage through the improvement of technology has not been in any way different. The pointing case has been in the form of the element of domination of some industries by other better-performing media industries. This is particularly the case when foreign media can deliver better content than the local media. If this is the case, an eventuality of dominance by the foreign content becomes the norm, and if the local players do not realign accordingly, people continue to consume the better content regardless of its source. This has been the situation in the

Globalization is a very controversial issue that has attracted massive attention in the past few decades. Globalization has impacted people across the world in personal, social, political and economic fields. The effects of globalization are numerous. People across one country today eat from the same restaurants, wear the same clothes, speak the same language and drive the same car as people from the opposite side of the globe. Instant communication with people is easier today than ever. The consequences of this rapid globalization are subject to interpretation. People, in general, tend to be biased about the net results of globalization. World leaders, however, have taken tangible steps towards encouraging a peaceful globalization.

Globalization is profoundly controversial. Some people argue that this international change allows poor countries and their citizens to develop economically and raise their standards of living. Others claim that the creation of an international free market has only benefited multinational corporations in the Western world at the expense of local enterprise and cultures and by the exploitation of less developed countries (What is Globalization?).

Across the world, globalization is one of the most significant aspects that has occurred over the last fifty years. It allows a country to integrate economically with other countries through a global network comprised of people, trade, and transportation. With the global landscape only becoming more intertwined, globalization and its inherent pros and cons seem to be here to stay. In many areas, global powers tend to lack in rectifying the negative aspects and only focus on the positive side. America, for example, is a leader in the globalization efforts, even though it has greatly effected job opportunities at home, widening income gaps, and an increased standard of living due to fluctuating world markets.