The Fate of Culture

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that globalization in the twenty-first century is having an enormous and obvious impact on the world in both political and economic spheres. The writer further notes that the debate as to whether effects of globalization, politically and economically, will be positive or negative is charged, but is also simplified by the tangibility of both of those spheres. The writer maintains that it is futile to believe that any outcome of the globalization of communications and information will be disastrous and lead to either an American cultural imperialism, or a warring set of resistant cultures. The writer concludes that predictions of extreme and disastrous outcomes of globalization are perhaps, in part, fabrications and paranoia from the political unconscious and maintains that perhaps one feels guilty that one is living and thriving in the boom of globalization and feels responsible for whatever potentially disastrous consequences that proceed from it.

Outline:
Introduction
The Fear of Sameness
The Fear of the Other
Hybrids Are Not Just Good Cars
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The alternative that Benjamin Barber predicts to the McWorld scenario is that of the jihad scenario, or a world of cultural polarization. It would be attributed to a resistance in parts of the world who would resist assimilation into foreign or Western culture and ideas, and its outcomes also wouldn't necessarily be all dangerous. While peoples would be fragmented across cultural lines, it could increase a sense of solidarity and community in those cultures.
"Cultural polarization could also lead to a fear of the other, and lead cultures to feel threatened by one another."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Greig, J. Michael. "The End of Geography?" The Journal Of Conflict Resolution, vol. 46, no. 2, April 2002. (225-243)
• Holton, Robert. "Dimensions of Globalization" Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 570, July 2000. (140-152)
• Rothkopf, David. "In Praise of Cultural Imperialism?" Foreign Policy, No. 107. Summer, 1997. (38-53)
• Szeman, Imre. "Culture and Globalization" CR: The New Centennial Review, vol. 3, no. 2, Summer 2003. (91-115)
• Tremblay, Reeta Chowdhari, Andre Lecours, Csaba Nikolenyi, Bassel Salloukh and Francesca Scala. Mapping the Political Landscape: An Introduction to Political Science. Toronto: Thomson Nelson, 2004.

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