Term Paper on "Globalization"

Term Paper 8 pages (2419 words) Sources: 6 Style: Harvard

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Globalization is becoming a more and more spoken word, present on the lips of more and more individuals. But what exactly does this concept imply? Globalization is a generic term which encompasses a wide series of changes that occur on various levels and domains, including economics, politics, medicine, technology and even culture. "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" (Globalization 101-2008)

Globalization is generally attributed to the interest of large corporations which pressure the governments into promoting laws for their personal benefit. These corporations have then "achieved what Alexander the Great, Caesar, the Spanish conquistadors, Napoleon, the British Empire, and Hitler never could: They rule the world" (Walljasper 1996)

The phenomenon has been analyzed from various perspectives and it has raised both supporters as well as discailmers, most of them presenting the economic and political positive as well as negative implications. A new way of approaching globalization is given by taking a cultural standpoint. In this particular sense, the question being posed here refers to the cultural implications of a globalized community.

2. Cultural Globalization

Discailmers of the international phenomenon have often argued that globalization creates opportunities for the occurrence of scale economies. This is possible due to increased access to several resources, including capital, labor and technologies, all abused by a certain country or corporation and used to manufacture product lines of items, placed then onto the national and international markets at uncompetitive prices. These accusations have even been taken one step further to state that globalization supports the creation of monopoly economies, in which one corporation or a group of companies detail full control over the market and the industry in which they operate. However it cannot be said that McDonald's detains monopoly, it is true that they are indeed the largest fast food chain in the world and their presence has been felt in various countries. The territorial expansion of the American chain has only been possible through the globalization of the international markets. The countries in which McDonald's is present have developed a strong fast food culture and the approach taken by McDonald's has been adopted by other corporations as well - situation often referred to as McDonaldization. Through generalization and inclusion of other American corporations that operate internationally, the term of Americanization as synonym to globalization has been introduced. But is this indeed true? Have the American corporations outsourced the United States culture to various parts of the globe? And is cultural globalization as important a force as declared by some?

A dual approach of the globalization of culture was realized based on two terms: glocalization and grobalization. Glocalization represents the integration of the international phenomenon within the unique features that define the country or area of expansion. Grobalization of the other hand refers to the influences felt by the local communities due to the territorial expansion of international corporations. "Glocalization is a term that was invented in order to emphasize that the globalization of a product is more likely to succeed when the product or service is adapted specifically to each locality or culture it is marketed in. The term combines the word globalization with localization" (Search CIO 2008). "Grobalization is the growing influence of centralized organizations on other parts of the world. Not just the happy mixture of glocalization, but an imposition of forms" (Hernandez-Diaz 2004). The simple existence and definition of these two features reveal the true importance of a cultural globalization.

In Globalization of Nothing 2, (2007) George Ritzer concludes that "globalization is a very broad process that encompasses a number of major subprocesses. One way of looking at globalization is to see it as encompassing a wide range of processes that form a continuum ranging from the well-known glocalization on one end to the newly coined grobalization on the other. The idea of a continuum makes it clear that most of what we think of as globalization falls somewhere between these two poles. Another way of saying this is that both glocalization and grobalization are ideal types with few, if any, actual global processes being one or the other. Thus, in looking at global processes or phenomena, we must assess their relative degree of glocal and grobal elements. The local is largely downplayed in this formulation largely because it has been, or is being, decimated by the grobal. That which remains of it is integrated into, and adulterated by, the grobal."

Social Effects country's culture is formed from all features that give it identity, such as language, religion, nationality or ethnicity, features which have all begun to change once globalization occurred. Take for instance the market liberalization that allowed an easier transfer of labor force. From this particular standpoint, numerous individuals have left their native countries in search for better paid jobs abroad. This then led to larger and more important communities of immigrants, generating changes in the demographic features of the region. Looking at the same issue from a different angle, one can easily observe how increasing numbers of immigrants have generated a reduction in the native population. To better understand, take the case of Mexico, which lost large amounts of its workforce. Most of the working individuals have left the country and established new residences within the United States, leaving their families behind. And those that remained were generally the elderly and the children. These children are then forced to grow up without their parents around, generating a social problem with various implications.

The children of immigrants represent a social problem as they have to grow up and form themselves as social individuals without the guidance of their parents. The latest figures have shown that the poverty rates for these children have indeed decreased, but isn't the price to pay too much? These improperly supervised children can easily fall pray to temptations with disastrous effects. The crime rates among the youth are larger, the suicide rates are larger, and despite their parents' working hard to offer them a better life, these children are seldom well educated.

Some immigrants choose to take their children with them, often after they have worked for a couple of years in the foreign country and have become able to better provide for their offspring. But even this scenario is not as optimistic as initially hoped. The children of immigrants face numerous barriers in the new country, they cannot understand and speak the language, they encounter difficulties in adjusting and interacting with the natives or they show limited interest in scholarly activities. Carola Suarez-Orozco and Marcelo Suarez-Orozco (2002) have taken a particular interest in the problems faced by the children of the immigrants to the United States. "For immigrant children, it is the best of times and the worst. These children are more likely than any previous generation of immigrants to end up in Ivy League universities -- or unschooled, on parole, or in prison. Most arrive as motivated students, respectful of authority and quick to learn English. Yet, at the same time, many face huge obstacles to success, such as poverty, prejudice, the trauma of immigration itself, and exposure to the materialistic, hedonistic world of their native-born peers."

The effects of cultural globalization are various and the specialized literature presents the reader with a wide array of empirical evidence and data to support both negative and positive implications. Jay Walljasper (1996) organized all his feared effects under the following set of questions: "Are you nervous that fierce economic competition may force your employer to slash jobs or relocate overseas? Do you worry that your kids spend too much time absorbed in the violent, flashing images of television and video games? Have you watched small shops and businesses in your neighborhood go broke as commerce flows toward mammoth superstores on the edge of town? Has your hometown recently turned harder-edged, with more crime, more poverty, and less confidence that we can do anything about these problems? Does your life seem to move at a faster and more uncomfortable pace? Is it your perception that no matter how hard you try you always wind up feeling poorer, fatter, drabber, less sexy, less happy, and less fully alive than the people portrayed in advertisements? If so, you're not alone. Almost six billion people on the planet feel much the same way."

It cannot however be said that globalization has only negative effects upon the modern society and culture. The basic definition of culture is that it consists of all features that identify a nation and it is formed along the years. In other words, across centuries now we have been subjected to various changes that impacted and helped form our current culture and social characteristics. And in this light of events, what is then so horrifying… READ MORE

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