By definition, imperialism is a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force. With globalization, we see local and regional trends spreading out to the rest of the world through a mix of economic, sociocultural, technological and political influences. This can be attributed to international economic activities such as trade and investments as well as the wide usage of technology. To say that globalization is imperialism repackaged is true to a certain extent in that many developing countries are adopting methods of developing their economies that have been tried and tested by the Western economic powerhouses. In this way, we see that Western countries have in a way, extended their power and influence. This can be attributed to the setting up of MNCs in the developing countries and the consultative role the 1st World takes up. Coupled with the intervention by the 3 pillars of the global economy today, namely the World Bank, IMF and WTO, we see that Western countries have imposed their capitalist ways on the 3rd World. Hence, it can be said that globalization is imperialism repackaged.
However, it is important to note that the 3rd World still possesses some form of sovereignty in that they still have their own powers and rights and are not under extensive control by the Western nations. These nations still are able to make their own economic decisions, such as monetary policy and what industries to focus on. As such, while they may be influenced by the 1st World, they are in no way, under their legislation. Furthermore, there is increased interdependency nowadays. Outsourcing to the 3rd World in order to benefit from the lower costs of production has seen the 1st World's dependency on the 3rd World. The 3rd World has also acted as a larger market base for the established Western firms, while the 3rd World has been dependent on the 1st World for technology, expertise and even money. In conclusion, globalization is not imperialism per se, but rather an international exchange of influences and interdependency. Although it has been a case of strong Western influence over recent years that seemingly made globalization seem like Western imperialism.
Will globalization create a more peaceful or conflict-laden world?
More peaceful:
o Globalization results in countries becoming more dependent on one another economically. As supported by the Dell Theory, countries that are dependent on one another will refrain from going to war as a war may jeopardize their economy. An example would be Taiwan and China. Despite their territorial disputes, they have not gone to war with each other as they are actually highly interdependent on each other.
o Globalization has helped improve the financial situations in countries all over the world, particularly third world countries. As such, people are able to afford more education such that with education, they can seek good jobs and their standard of living increases. This can help create a more peaceful world as can be seen from the statements of the sole surviving bomber of the Mumbai train attacks. He testified that he joined the Lashka-e-Taiba (the terrorist group responsible for the attacks) as he had hoped to improve his family’s living conditions etc. As he was poor and uneducated, the only way he could earn money was to join the terrorist group. Hence, it can be seen that as globalization can help increase educational opportunities to people in the lower-income group, violent acts/terrorism can be reduced when the people are able to seek good, well-paying jobs.
More conflict-laden:
o While globalization can bring about wealth when there is reduction of trade barriers etc, globalization does not bring about wealth to everybody. This is because the increase in wealth is usually concentrated in the hands of the rich. Hence, the rich gets richer such that there is a widening of income gap. When this happens, the people in the low-income group tend to get dissatisfied such that they will try to retaliate through means such as violence/terrorism to make the world sit up and listen to them.
o Globalization has brought up the establishment of many Free-Trade Agreements (FTA). However, this has not totally improved the ease of trading in the economy due to protectionism still practiced by various governments. Forms of protectionism include export subsidies and tariffs. An example of protectionism would be direct subsidies whereby governments help their firms to adapt to the global market such that there is actually protectionism taking place.
Can we be part of the global economy and still retain our own unique culture and traditions? Or would we end up being mini-Americas?
We can be part of the global economy and still retain our own unique culture and traditions, however, this is only possible if action taken by the country to preserve its tradition through conservation and promotion of the cultural scene in the country.
By being part of the global economy, where market forces of demand and supply takes place, we see countries producing the goods and services that have higher demand, mostly from developed countries like America. With this increased output of such goods and services, and increased economic trade established between the countries established as a result, there is an increased level of integration and interdependence of the various countries' economies. With this increased interdependence between countries comes increased mingling of various cultures due to the effect of globalisation, enabled by improvements in infrastructure and IT. The worry here is that countries would subsequently lose their culture and forget their traditions as we all head towards a more Westernised way of living, which is seen in many developing countries as an ideal form of lifestyle with a higher standard of living, which they then pursue.
This can be seen in many newly industralised countries (NIEs) such as India, where the new generation is perceived to have a very different mindset from the older generations, having less respect for their festivals and rituals, which have been said to be the "very basis and foundation" of their culture. Instead, we see a new generation of Indians who have more lofty ambitions and aims in life, and wish to achieve them, which makes them busier and therefore having less time for these rituals. In another way, they are also less interested in these rituals as they pursue more practical ambitions of being able to stand up for themselves economically and aim to not be reliant on the nuclear unit of the family, which used to serve as an important "safety net" for the younger generation in the economic sense. By drifting away from the family, this important influence of the older generations slowly dissipates and this leaves the younger generation totally exposed to the commercialism that is the very reason why they are turning into mini-Americas, forgetting their own unique cultures and traditions.
Yet, we must not forget that the direction that a country takes with respect to the movement of culture within a country is largely dependent on the stance that the government takes. This stance refers to how much cultural exchange the government would allow for its country among other countries, which can be controlled and regulated. The reason why America for example is a giant melting pot of different cultures is because of the liberal stance which its government has taken, which has led to the large immigrant influx from Europe, Africa and South America. This eventually resulted in the prospering of their respective cultures within the country, becoming what we know of America, which is essentially very much like what the world would be like if everyone took the same stance as their government did.
We must, however, take into account that many countries put in a lot of effort to preserve their respective cultures and rich traditions, be it through investing in the local cultural scene or promoting nation-wide festivals and commemorating them. One prime example would be seen in China, where their government takes steps to maintain their traditions, be it the Chinese New Year rituals, which are maintained by most if not all Chinese yearly without fail, even if they do not happen to be in China, or investing in traditional Chinese medicine even if Western medical science is becoming more readily accepted by the rest of the world due to the greater scientific acknowledgement. While people would feel that the old-fashioned traditions would slow down their pace of innovation and development because they are outdated and no longer applicable to the new age of information and technology, many people still retain strong emotional bonds for their unique traditions which they had become accustomed to, passed down from countless generations before. This effort to retain their culture goes a long way in preventing them from turning into the mini-Americas mentioned earlier.
Countries also have further incentive to retain their respective cultures and traditions because of the role of tourism, which is becoming a more important source of income for many countries, creating jobs and increasing economic growth at the same time. One important form of tourism is heritage/cultural tourism, where one experiences the culture of the country primarily through its arts scene. By maintaining their unique culture through the investment into museums and supporting the tradition of indigenous cultural communities such as its festivals and rituals, the country would be able to attract more tourists to its country, which would be beneficial to its economy. An example can be seen in Italy, where opera remains an important source of entertainment in the country, and it is the site of the history of Roman culture, seen through the preservation of famous historical sites such as The Colosseum etc. With an increased focus on the preservation of the country's culture through the government's efforts once again, it is unlikely that the country would become a mini-America, even if it becomes a part of the global economy.
In addition, with the phenomenon of "glocalisation" existent in the world today, which is by definition people being willing and able to "think globally and act locally," countries are able to tap into their own strengths and areas of speciality for use on the global scale. An example would be yoga, which originated in India, and is now a very popular form of physical exercise and mental discipline around the world. At the same time, this helps to not only retain its own unique culture and lifestyle, but even seeks to showcase it to the world and change the lifestyle of others, preventing the country and others from turning into mini-Americas.
In conclusion, we can be part of the global economy and still retain our own unique cultures and traditions to a large extent, but only if the government chooses to mitigate the changes brought about by globalisation and take control over the state of the culture and lifestyle of the people.
By Yuwen, Timothy, Ivan, Ruiting of 7A
1 comment:
Q1. What is your view? Can we be part of the global economy and still retain our own unique traditions and cultures? Or will we end up being mini-Americans?
We can still retain our own unique traditions and cultures in this globalizing world. As more information is being shared amongst countries, we find ourselves adopting a global identity- as citizens of the world. Yet it is also in the intrinsic nature of humans to identify ourselves with a certain community, and that is our own country. Hence, this intensifies the need for us to hold on to our own unique traditions and cultures, because it differentiates ourselves from others and enable us to have that feeling that we are special. No doubt the new generation may view their own cultures too traditional and look to the west for a change, they will soon come to realize that ultimately the American ideals do not belong to them and will seek to respect their own roots.
The Learn Mandarin campaign’s advertisement broadcasted on Singapore’s television channels recently drew criticism for its feature on foreign children speaking Mandarin in a seemingly perfect accent. While it aims to show how globalisation leads to the popularity of Mandarin in the world, the notion of using foreign children raises certain concerns about alienating Singaporean Mandarin speakers and the traditional Chinese culture. The idea may have worked somewhere else, but certainly not in Singapore for it is dominated by traditional Asian virtues. The use of foreigners to promote Mandarin is certainly not endearing to the majority of Singaporeans.
As Asians, we have history and cultures that take root deeply in the societies that we live in. While the western philosophy focuses on individuality, the oriental philosophy centres on the importance of society. Our values are developed on traditions of hard work and strict social hierarchies, as such the order of the society and its values have been ingrained into our mindset. The emphasis is more on the human rather than the lifestyle. It is true that modern societies have been promoting concepts like healthy lifestyles and commercialism, but in the end of the day, they all contribute to building up the human values that we have so much taken pride in.
This pride also prompts us to define ourselves amidst the global competitiveness. In a changing global landscape of worshipping America, everybody will look pretty much the same. One who can rise above all the influences and define one’s own identity based on one’s cultural value is likely to succeed. Japan is an example of how rich culture can be retained in midst of globalisation. Fashion and graphic designers have drawn inspirations upon the traditional clothing motifs and decorative patterns to create Japan’s modern identity. It is a vivid example of how traditions and cultures can survive even when we bath in the global economy. And it goes to show that it is our own choice whether to take pride in our cultures or become conformists and become mini-Americas.
Thus, we believe that our own sense of pride will keep us deeply rooted in our cultures as long as there are enough efforts from the government as well as the people in promoting and practicing cultural customs and traditions.
Jiwei, Qiwei, Serena, Trung, Lionel
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