The term globalisation is contested, a
general definition is…
An increase in the flow of goods, services,
Basically
thenational
World
is in
people,
capital across
borders
order to create
a more integrated and
shrinking.
interdependent world economy.
Improved transport means that
people and goods can be moved
around the world more quickly.
Distance between places hasn’t
changed, but the time needed to
cover those distances has.
Improvement in technology, such
as the internet, has meant that
capital (money) can be
transferred instantly between
locations. People can also use
telephones and the internet to
communicate more easily in ‘real
time’.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ldandersen/301812211/
Improvements in technology
have also lead to the
development of a mass media,
television, radio and internet, far
off places now seem much
closer… we can even see them
in real time.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skooal/322346446/
These factors have lead to
increased interdependence
between places… they also seem
much closer than they did.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anjan58/1281306048/
http://www.bized.co.uk/educators/16-19/economics/international/presentation/globalisationmap.gif
Some commentators have suggested that
globalisation will lead to a global culture
‘The earth's inhabitants will lose
their cultural diversity and one
culture will be experienced by all
people. ‘
A global village will develop.
The rise of globalisation has also
lead to the global company, the
multinational, these global
companies have had a huge impact
on cultural trends across the world.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/romanlily/1257704249
/
This has lead some people not to talk of a
global culture, but a brand new world.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/romanlily/1257704249
/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_New_World
The world the novel describes is a
utopia, albeit an ironic one: humanity is
carefree, healthy and technologically
advanced. Warfare and poverty have
been eliminated and everyone is
permanently happy due to
government-provided stimulation. The
irony is that all of these things have
been achieved by eliminating many
things that humans consider to be
central to their identity — family,
culture, art, literature, science,
religion, and philosophy. It is also a
hedonistic society, deriving pleasure
from promiscuous sex and drug use,
especially the use of soma, a powerful
drug taken to escape pain and bad
memories through hallucinatory
fantasies. Additionally, stability has been
achieved and is maintained via
deliberately engineered and rigidly
enforced social stratification.
McDonalds, India
McDonalds, China
Some individuals believe that
globalisation is having a negative
impact on cultural diversity, these
are called anti-globalisationists.
Worried about the impact of immoral Barbie,
Islamic countries have produced their own
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=15449
alternatives.
Is this new global culture
inclusive?
Brand New World – Evidence for and Against
Area
Technology (T)
News Media (NM)
Leisure and
Entertainment
(LE)
Consumer Products
(CP)
Evidence for a global
culture
Impact on culture
Reaction
•It is not a global culture, but in reality American culture. Some people
have called it Cultural Imperialism. This has lead in some cases to
violent reactions.
•It is not inclusive, the poorest can’t afford it, despite often being the
workers, nor has the process of globalisation penetrated certain
locations. Global culture, people have argued, is the preserve of an
educated professional elite.
•It is a censored culture. National governments have chosen to filter
exposure to certain aspects of culture that they feel are unsuitable or
undermine their power.
•It is undermines diversity. Aspects of global culture may
undermine/conflict with local/national cultures, critics argue it is the
movement to a standard identity.
•It undermines national economies. National producers of food, music
and culture, can’t compete with large multinational companies and
their resources.
•It lacks choice. A decreasing number of multi-nationals offering
popular culture means less choice for consumers and potentially less
value for money.
•Culture evolves. Culture has evolved over time and the
process of globalisation is just seen as a natural extension of
this process.
•Cultural fusion. It is not only America that has influenced
global culture, Asian countries such as Japan have had a
huge influence, for example computing and gaming.
•People have choice. There is not international conspiracy,
consumers have a choice in the culture they consume.
•Greater understanding. Increasing interconnectiveness
makes the process of conflict more difficult, we have more in
common. There have been no global conflicts in over half a
century.- Global Village- tolerance through uniformity (?).
•Improved equality. Some believe that exposure to Western
culture has had a positive impact on the rights of individuals,
for example the role of women in certain societies.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ozdema2/1578115941