Cultural globalization

1. Summary

As we studied last time, there are many multidimensional definitions of ‘globalization’ such as economical, political, technological ones including alteration of environmental and cultural changes. But the more common definition of globalization is a complex, accelerating, integrating process of global connectivity. So the most important feature of globalization is a building networks of interconnections and interdependencies that characterize material, social, economic and cultural life in the modern world. But many scholars have been warned that the dominance of the capitalist system. People have to resist the temptation to attribute it with causal primacy in the globalization process. There are two reasons for this. First, questions about how effective the economic practices and cultural ones. Scholars insist that admitting the economic reductionism is just an unrealistically narrow conception of understanding the economic concept. The writer said the second reason is it distorts our understanding of the sphere of culture. One reason why it seems natural to speak of globalization’s impact on culture is that global market processes which is represented as cultural imperialism, Americanization or Westernization. In this way, the culture seems to be a peculiarly inert category. Clifford Geertz said that culture is not a power, something to which social events can be causally attributed.

If we are asked the question like what do you think the global culture is? We could answer that the culture is unifying the effects of connectivity with the other factors of society such as economic sphere which is tightly integrated system of the global market. Roland Robertson said, in the past it could be possible to understand the local independent system of local economy and culture but nowadays the world become more and more globalized so now the world seems to be a one integrated society by emerging the American economic, cultural effects. There are common samples of that discussion. Nation-states are locked into a complex global capitalistic system which restricts their autonomy independently to order their economic affairs and also the cultures systems. It causes a lot of loss of non-western cultural traditions.

There are another notion of understand the cultural globalization. It called Deterritorialization. It highlightened the importance of the geographical location of culture. As we already feel it, culture is no longer restricted to local circumstances.

2. Interesting things I learned

As the many sociologist asserted before, it was very fascinating to me that the understanding the cultural globalization’s effects. We discussed during the class already, I am very interested about how far the cultural globalization’s effect could reach. In that way, there are severe problems that the power of globalization cause the cultural imperialism and it was little shock to me. Imperialism lead the whole world into a chaotic wars in the past. But now we are living in the unified world and we are affected the globalization in everyday life. In this sense, I become to be concerned about what side effect could be caused by the cultural imperialism by reading this article.

3. Discussion point.

Korea has a long history and culture from the past. Especially we had been lived in a Confucian ideology for a very long time. Because of the Confucian ideology, Korean people have been empathized to be polite to others and be considerate to others especially to the elders. I think that Korean traditional culture is very humane and proud thing. But as we already know, the western culture and economical priority take its effect more and more to Korean society. The present world runs with economical principles but there are lots of important values except the economic values. I think we should alert the economical afficiency. I wonder what you guys think.