Other Comment

Globalization and America

The International Herald tribune May 7, 2003



Fears that globalization is imposing a deadening cultural uniformity are as ubiquitous as Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Mickey Mouse. Europeans and Latin Americans, left-wingers and right, rich and poor – all of them dread that local cultures and national identities are dissolving into a crass all-American consumerism. That cultural imperialism is said to impose American values as well as products, promote the commercial at the expense of the authentic, and substitute shallow gratification for deeper satisfaction. If critics of globalization were less obsessed with “Coca-colonization,” they might notice a rich feast of cultural mixing that belies fears about Americanized uniformity. Algerians in Paris practice Thai boxing; Asian rappers in London snack on Turkish pizza; Salman Rushdie delights readers everywhere with his Anglo-Indian tales. Although – as with any change – there can be downsides to cultural globalization, this cross-fertilization is overwhelmingly a force for good.

The beauty of globalization is that it can free people from the tyranny of geography. Just because someone was born in France does not mean they can only aspire to speak French, eat French food, read French books, visit museums in France, and so on. A Frenchman – or an American, for that matter – can take holidays in Spain or Florida, eat sushi or spaghetti for dinner, drink Coke or Chilean wine, watch a Hollywood  blockbuster or an Almodovar, listen to bhangra or rap, practice yoga or kickboxing, read Elle or The Economist and have friends from around the world. That we are increasingly free to choose our cultural experiences enriches our lives immeasurably.

Globalization not only increases individual freedom, but also revitalizes cultures and cultural artifacts through foreign influences, technologies and markets. Thriving cultures are not set in stone. They are forever changing from within and without. Each genera-tion challenges the previous one; science and technology alter the way we see ourselves and the world; fashions come and go; experience and events influence our beliefs; outsiders affect us for good and ill.

It is a myth that globalization involves the imposition of Americanized uniformity, rather than an explosion of cultural exchange.