Does globalization mean we will become one culture?
Modern humans have
created many thousands of distinct cultures. So, can we suppose that in few
centuries, it may be that exist one giant, homogenous world culture?
Indeed, by way of the
appropriation and assimilation of foreign cultures, countries culture tends to be
similarly. The American dream has popularized the American way of life and you
can see American brands all over the world. For example, MacDonald’s restaurants
are found in 120 countries and territories around the world and serve 68
million customers each day. All the sectors of the economy are concerned:
Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple and many other.
In recent history,
this ‘cumulative cultural adaptation’ that our capacity for culture grants has
been accelerated by the rise of archiving technology. Papyrus scrolls, books
and the internet allow us to even more effectively share knowledge with
successive generations, opening up an unbridgeable gap in the evolutionary
potential between humans and all other animals.
Related to this, the
dominant demographic trend of the next century will be the movement of people
from poorer to richer regions of the world. We can suppose that today’s
developing countries became developed countries… but at this moment, are super-developed
countries the today’s developed countries? However, it destines the world for being
a melting pot of cultures.
It might be
surprising, but our genes, in the form of our capacity for culture, have
created in us a machine capable of greater cooperation, inventiveness and
common good than any other on Earth. I think that it always exists some differences
between countries, but it can’t be exactly and strictly the same culture for
all the countries. For example, composition of the menus in MacDonald’s
restaurants can’t be the same, but values and working codes can be even more similar.
It can be possible that cultures are more and more identically.
Dear Elodie,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your article, it was very interressing to read. Your arguments are very fair, I loved the example of the Macdonald's. This example is a good way to show that there is a global culture that is set up on a global scale but each country keeps its own identity. I think that with globalization, it is impossible for countries to refuse to enter in a global culture (apart from being very enclosed countries like north korea, or of course the undeveloped regions of the planet like).
In my opinion, technological advances are the main factor that will enable the country to be even more connected, and therefore to push countries towards a similar culture. In fact, even though there are thousands of factors that link countries to a single culture (food, architecture, languages, fashion), the most significant factor is technology because it is by becoming more intelligent that humans will share their knowledge and create a unique culture, a unique way of life.
To nuance this remark , and I think you'll agree with me, I would say that it is impossible for a population as large as ours to adopt a common culture. Even if there is a lot of element that connects us (technology: GAFA), nations have cultural roots that are too entrenched to be removed, or replaced by others. it is indeed difficult to imagine that one day, the Asian countries and those of Europe have a totally similar culture.