To What Extent Has Globalisation Led to an Emerging World Culture?
This paper examines the concept of globalisation, its instruments and also the problems which arise as a result of globalisation. To be precise, this essay will concentrate on the social impacts of globalisation as a result of the media, tourism and travel, trade and investments and technology. With the aid of examples of different countries of the world, it shall also evaluate and analyze why globalisation has affected certain areas and not others.
There is no definite definition of “globalization,” however it can be defined as the process of increased connectivity of people, as a result of economic, commercial, technological, political, social and cultural processes (Wikipedia definitions for globalisation). Global integration and interdependence has emerged in the past decades of the 20th century. One of the consequences of globalisation has been what is termed as “world culture”, and it can be defined as “the way in which people live in a whole society”. The social life comprises of law and morality, a system of beliefs, language, religion, rituals, dress and manners. It’s the social implications of globalization which have led to world culture. However the global culture is not as universal as it may seem due to the clashes between local and the emerging global culture.
The Media is the most significant tool influencing globalization. It is what creates and sustains globalization. The media mainly uses English as a way to communicate to the public as it is a widespread spoken language therefore proving effective in terms of speedy delivery of messages. For example, in Tanzania, people are able to learn about the current happenings across the world through television channels like CNN, which is American, or BBC (British) or Al-Jazeera which is from Qatar. The developing countries are unable to transmit their information to the rest of the world from their point of view because they lack international news channels. As a result, a gap is created
There is no definite definition of “globalization,” however it can be defined as the process of increased connectivity of people, as a result of economic, commercial, technological, political, social and cultural processes (Wikipedia definitions for globalisation). Global integration and interdependence has emerged in the past decades of the 20th century. One of the consequences of globalisation has been what is termed as “world culture”, and it can be defined as “the way in which people live in a whole society”. The social life comprises of law and morality, a system of beliefs, language, religion, rituals, dress and manners. It’s the social implications of globalization which have led to world culture. However the global culture is not as universal as it may seem due to the clashes between local and the emerging global culture.
The Media is the most significant tool influencing globalization. It is what creates and sustains globalization. The media mainly uses English as a way to communicate to the public as it is a widespread spoken language therefore proving effective in terms of speedy delivery of messages. For example, in Tanzania, people are able to learn about the current happenings across the world through television channels like CNN, which is American, or BBC (British) or Al-Jazeera which is from Qatar. The developing countries are unable to transmit their information to the rest of the world from their point of view because they lack international news channels. As a result, a gap is created
References: D. Stanley Eitzen & Maxine Baca Zinn, (2006) globalisation: the transformation of social world. Canada. Thomson Wadsworth. Understanding globalisation Websites http//www.cap-Imu.de/publikationeon/2000/Europe_globalisation.php http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:O_8NILQ- mD0J:www.tourismconcern.org.uk/downloads/pdfs/Exploring-the-world.pdf+how+is+the+culture+in+namibia+affected+by+tourism&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=8&gl=my as at 22nd November 2007 http://globalisation.icaap.org/content/v2.1/01_akindele_etal.html http://media.www.harbus.org/media/storage/paper343/news/2001/11/19/Features/Ken-Wiwa.In.The.Shadow.Of.A.Saint-148341.shtml as at 7:54PM, 5th December 2007