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6. Culture and Globalization

Globalization and Culture: The Three H Scenarios 1

  • Globalization is the flow of people, financial resources, goods, information and culture which increased in a drastic way.
  • The interaction between globalization and culture still remains under-researched.
  • The literature has not been able to stress whether concepts such as Americanization and McDonaldization are synonymous with globalization.
  • One thing that is definite and sure is that globalization is multidimensional and has economic, cultural, social and political aspects which impact both individuals and societies.
  • It seems that globalization has an ideological basis as it is founded on the capitalist economic tradition with its premises such as the development of free markets, private ownership, open and free decision-making, the price mechanism and competition.
  • globalization also has political features through the so-called notion of global governance.
  • Thus, the concept of a world village characterized by the same values and concerns does not hold true. In fact, globalization has not eliminated immense disparities in the ways of life or standards of living between rich and poor nations.
  • Culture is the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group, society, category, or nation from another.
  • Culture is concerned with a distinct environment of a community about which members share meaning and values.
  • Culture refers to art products and activities, as well as, other creative products that stimulate and entertain individuals such as music, literature, visual arts and cinema.
  • The concept of culture has two major definitions:
    • Culture is an integrated set of values, norms and behaviors acquired by human beings as members of a society.
    • From a sociological stance, culture refers to artistic and symbolic creations, heritage and cultural products.
  • However, the predominance of the nation-state and national economic barriers had protected and insulated cultures from external influence.
  • The effects of globalization on culture are divided into three categories:
    • Heterogenization: diversity or differentiation.
      • At the local level, the community becomes more diverse and heterogeneous, with smaller subcultures within it.
      • At the global level, two local communities become very different from each other.
      • In this view, globalization will only change the surface of a culture, leaving the core intact which means that every culture refuses the other cultures.
    • Homogenization: uniformity.
      • A Global Culture is created, such as the Americanization of the world, and all cultures become the same.
      • All people around the world watch the same movies, listen to the same music, eat the same food, and wear the same clothes.
      • However, critics argue that those are only the surface of culture and that the core never changes.
      • McDonaldization is a term used to describe the homogenization of culture, where McDonald’s uses the same formula and organization in all its restaurants around the world.
      • Critics argue that McDonald’s adapts to local cultures in different ways.
    • Hybridization: mixture.
      • globalization is a complex blend or mixture of homogenization and heterogenization as opposed to a wide-ranging process of homogenization.

Introduction to The Monstrous Global: The Effects of Globalization on Cultures 2

Homogenization or diversification? The impact of globalization on the cultural identity of first and second-generation immigrants 3

References

  1. Hassi, A., & Storti, G. (2012).Globalization and Culture: The Three H Scenarios.https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/38348 ↩

  2. Jin, J. Y., & Roe, J. H. (2019). Introduction to The MonstrousGlobal: The Effects of Globalization on Cultures. CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture, 21(7), Special Issue Monstrosity and Globalization, 5-8. In Ju Young Jin & Jae H. Roe (Eds.). https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3671&context=clcweb ↩

  3. Bouymaj, I., & Telo de Freitas Barbosa Pereira, R. (2022). Homogenization or diversification? The impact of globalization on the cultural identity of first and second-generation immigrants. Journal of Globalization Studies,13(1). https://www.sociostudies.org/journal/articles/3238605/ ↩