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Globalisation: a Study of Traditional Communities in Change Essay

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Globalisation: A Study of Traditional Communities in Change It has been argued that social changes in the contemporary world have resulted in local communities not being sustainable in its traditional form. Globalization has been a leading component of this social change that has accelerated in recent times. Hawkins (2006) has defined globalisation as a process by which the world’s societies and cultures are becoming increasingly interconnected and interdependent. Whilst this process has helped to narrow social hierarchies in certain respects, in other ways the process has widen structural gaps in life chances. The very speed of these changes has been problematic for communities trying to adapt to and resist change. In this essay I will …show more content…

The increased demand came mainly from developed countries whose governments held the perception that skilled immigrants could easily assimilate into their new societies. Multiculturalist’s policies were introduced as a means to address new citizenship issues, cross-cultural understanding, discourage racism, discrimination and violence. Amongst the most important rights that were at the forefront were the rights to private property and political freedom. It was seen as a manifestation of the commitment to diversity. Education was used to initiate the naturalisation of immigrants and new citizens into communities while addressing the fears and grievances of the existing citizens. However by the late 80s multiculturalism was criticised by a new breed of conservatives called the neo-liberals who felt that multiculturalism was blocking a shared national identity and denounced it as a misguided. In many ways their philosophy was similar to that of Social Darwinism, which was underpinned by ideas of survival of the fittest. Community service programmes that were provided by the state were remodelled and reduced to establish another form of state called the contract state. These philosophies were seen as antithetical to community development, which are based on community need, and not individual self-advancement resulting in fragmented communities. The terrorist attacks on September 11 further shaped the international order and today we question if the state is still

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