Culturally, We Are Becoming More Similar Across the Globe

We are currently impacted by global processes, of unprecedented magnitude. On the positive side, our world is characterized (and increasingly) by a rapid increase in trade, both of capital, goods and services, including information, ideas, technologies and cultural patterns. On the negative side, we experience processes enormous concentration of wealth and social marginalization, and a rapid enlargement of the gap between developed and underdeveloped countries in the world, while appear on the horizon an ecological crisis of global reach.

When it comes to globalization, everyone may have a different vision of it’s outcome. For Marcelo Gleiser, the author of “Globalization: Two visions of the Future of Humanity”, a completely globalized world may result in a dystopia. In contrast, Jeffrey Wasserstrom, the author of “A Mickey Mouse Approach to Globalization” and Tanveer Ali, the creator of “The Subway Falafel Sandwich and the Americanization of Ethnic Food” may think of globalization as other cultures sharing each other’s components to interact on a new level and spurring a more “open-minded” (Ali 27) individual.

Globalization is the process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a global network by transportation, communication, and trade. Through a global lens the process of globalization seems to be vital to the development of the modern world. As a result of globalization there has been a dramatic transition in every aspect of life around the world, more specifically in areas such as trade, immigration, and human development. International trade bolsters sales, lowers the cost of production and consumption, and extends the market reach of any corporation. This is beneficial to America in that consumers are able to buy more goods and services at lower costs and therefore the gross domestic product

“Globalization is a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology. This process has effects on the environment, on culture, on political systems, on economic development and prosperity, and on human physical well-being in societies around the world” (The State University of New York, 2014, para 1).

In his article “Globalization: Two Visions Of The Future Of Humanity”, Marcelo Gleiser states that there are two possible outcomes of the process of globalization. At first, he predicts that world can turn into a true global village due to the development of technology, traveling, trade and Internet. However, Gleizer explains that it is not easy to foresee unknown and questions how much this “scientific utopia” (8) is realistic, when considering politics and culture. Then, he argues that globalization cannot be achieved due to “evolved tribal nature” (9) of humanity, even though it is implied as the process which will diminish any barrier between various cultures. He states there is no doubt that trade and travel barriers will disappear by

Globalization is the process by which different societies and cultures integrate through a worldwide network of political ideas through transportation, communication, and trade. Generally, globalization has affected many nations in various ways; economically, politically, and socially. It is a term that refers to the fast integration and interdependence of various nations, which shapes the world affairs on a global level. Simply put; globalization is the world coming together. In this essay I will discuss multiple perspectives on globalization through the analysis of these three sources.

We all live in a globalized world; due to technologies being rapidly made it has driven globalization. Now we are well informed about other countries across the entire world and able to communicate internationally. Globalization has created a framework for cooperation among homelands. Generally, it has affected our nations and, indirectly we, the citizens in various ways; economically, politically, and socially, however it is a fast integration and association of various nations, which shapes the world affairs on a global level. The concept of globalization is evident in the many difficult challenges that come with it, involving our cultural differences, and the regulating challenge of globalizations. The phenomenon of globalization has affected many cultures around the world, resulting in the Americanization of other nations.

Globalization is difficult to simply define due to the variety of changing definitions that have been established over previous decades. Hamilton and Webster (2012) suggest that globalization is the connection between nations, defining globalization as a process in which barriers are reduced in order to encourage exchanges between countries. This view proposes that globalization refers very much so to the trade barriers and the improved communications between countries in order to ensure the world is unified. Globalization increases economic activity across the world and opens up markets for foreign investment.

Although the first use of the term ‘globalization’ can be traced back to the 1940s, it was only after half a century that this concept stormed the public consciousness. The buzzword ‘globalization’ exploded into the ‘Roaring nineties’ because it captured the increasingly interdependent nature of social life on this planet. Earlier the concept of globalization was viewed as a techo-economic juggernaut spreading western culture and the intellection of capitalism and quashing local beliefs and national traditions. Thus, it was viewed as a ripple of Americanization. One corollary of the propagation of this perspective created fears in the minds of people, who had utter love and affection towards their own culture.

Based on World Health Organization statistics, global economic interdependence has led to an astonishing increase of the population and higher standards of living (Who.int, 2016). For instance, Lagos used to have a population of 41,000 in 1900 (Cahoon, n.d.). A century later, Lagos records an astonishing population number of 8 million (World Population Review, 2016). The traveling from one place to another resulted in denser population centers. For instance, China has 150 million people that left the countryside to the cities for the past 20 years (Williams, 2012, 76). Such shift can also be seen mainly in the U.S. and Europe in different work sectors; from agriculture and manufacturing to service – healthcare, retail, education, technology, entertainment and the list can go on. This shift allowed for changing worldviews and especially a change in the psychology of the upper class living in the industrialized world (Stopford, Strange and Henley, 1991, 82-87). Frederic Jameson says “we are… so far removed from the realities of production and work that we inhabit a dream world of artificial stimuli and televised experience” (Jameson, 1972, ‘Preface’ p. xvii). This supports the argument made by many historians who believe that globalization has led to a “celebration of individualism” (Elliott and Lemert, 2009, pp.17). Going back to the Depression and World War II, the population then faced a large-scale collectivist response to an individualistic absence. Part

There is a growing interest in sociology to study the emergence of a transnational social class – a new group in developed societies whose members, due to specific resources and capabilities possessed, are able to live their daily lives and develop their professional careers beyond the borders of any particular nation-state (see e.g. Mau, 2010, Andreotti et al., 2013b, Favell, 2003, Gerhards, 2012, Savage et al., 2004). The individuals belonging to this group are often perceived – in keeping with the cosmopolitan notion of a ‘citizen of the world’ – to have ‘globe-trotting’ lifestyles, universalized sense of belonging, and to be able to effortlessly integrate into any desired cultural and social milieu (Hannerz, 1990). Empirical studies, however,

and consciousness across world-time and world-space” (Steger). In other words, globalization applies to an arrangement of social procedures that seems to change our present social

The concept of globalization is a complex and peculiar one, failing to be definable by a single, precise definition. Centrally, globalization involves information and goods being exchanged amongst different countries. These interactions and interchanges among countries globally over time is due to an increase in communication and transport networks. Globalization is often divided into three main areas being economic globalization, cultural globalization and political globalization. All three are vital areas to one’s life and globalization is said to have a large impact on each. Although globalization is controversial in the aspect that it cannot be declared just how much of an influence the notion has in the world. Political scientists such as Muhammad Ijaz Latif, Anton Pelinka and Martin Wolf all discuss this issue in their respective pieces as well as differing aspects of globalization such as the role the European Union plays in relation to globalization, the different perspectives of globalization and the challenges of the nation-state in regards to globalization.

Many historians and sociologists have identified a transformation in the economic processes of the world and society in recent times. There has been an extensive increase in developments in technology and the economy as a whole in the twentieth century. Globalization has been recognized as a new age in which the world has developed into what Giddens identifies to be a “single social system” (Anthony Giddens: 1993 ‘Sociology’ pg 528), due to the rise of interdependence of various countries on one another, therefore affecting practically everyone within society.

The term globalization had started gaining prominence towards the end of twentieth century. Over the period of time, it has become one of the most discussed phenomenon. It is not about the process of international integration of nations and their economic activities, but as a matter fact, it is way more complex involving other factors like environmental challenges, politics and other socio-cultural aspects.