An Examination of Global Capitalism and Social Subjectivity

This essay delves into the intricate relationship between global capitalism and social subjectivity, arguing that while global capitalism can erode cultural diversity, it also selectively preserves and promotes social subjectivity to serve its economic interests. The essay examines how capitalism thrives on marketability, adapting to diverse client bases by catering to their specific cultural, ethnic, and religious preferences. It provides evidence through case studies of global fast-food chains like McDonald's and Domino's, which adapt their menus to local tastes, and international airlines such as Emirates and Etihad, which offer diverse cuisines to respect their passengers' cultural backgrounds. The essay concludes that global capitalism's impact on social subjectivity is nuanced, involving a strategic approach of selective preservation and muting to maximize profits and cater to human preferences.

Running head: SOCIAL SUBJECTIVITY AND GLOBAL CAPITALISM
SOCIAL SUBJECTIVITY AND GLOBAL CAPITALISM
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Author Note

1SOCIAL SUBJECTIVITY AND GLOBAL CAPITALISM
Introduction
Social subjectivity in sociological terms refers to the difference and specificities related
to the culture, value predispositions, customary practices of the various ethnic communities.
From this it becomes that each community or social group is different and distinct from the rest
others and that contributes to the cultural diversity in the world. However in this globalized
world, much of the cultural diversity is getting deconstructed given the fact that the closer
interaction between the various cultural and social communities are being facilitated and
encouraged by the development of the channels of communication. The resultant exchange of
cultural practices between the various communities coming together is gradually leading to the
formation of a composite global culture. The formation of such a homogenized global culture has
led to a serious loss of the various cultures, many of the exotic cultures have been forced to give
up on their distinctiveness. It is quite a common phenomenon for several exotic cultures to get
supplanted within the fold of the western bureaucratic culture, both in terms of practice and also
in terms of the economy. Thus it can be said that global capitalism has led to the degeneration of
the preservation of the cultural diversity and the status quo of social subjectivity (Uhlmann,
2016).
On the flip side it is also true that global capitalism has led to the flourishing of the social
subjectivity for its own survival, similar to the way it has led to the degeneration of the cultural
diversity and social subjectivity. The global capitalism has very selectively led to the
preservation of the social subjectivity by means of muting certain aspects and glorifying few
other aspects just for the sake of safeguarding its monetary interests. In this way, the
phenomemon of global capitalism has also led to the preservation of the cultural diversity and

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the social subjectivity. Thus it would be an unjustified generalization to declare global capitalism
as the agent which has led to the demolition of the cultural diversity and the social subjectivity. It
is a nuanced phenomenon and the most justifiable appropriation of the role of global capitalism
with regard to its effect on culture would be that of selective preservation and muting for the
purpose of serving its own economic interests (Uhlmann, 2016).
Statement of Purpose
This particular essay shall be discussing about the issue of global capitalism and the role
it has played in upholding the factor of social subjectivity. The discussion in the following
section shall be dealing with specific reasons why the global capitalism has seeks to produce the
conditions favouring the social subjectivity and shall also be providing an account of the
evidences which shall be proving the legitimacy of the chosen thesis statement. This particular
essay shall be providing evidences which shall be favouring the thesis statement and shall be
upholding its credibility that global capitalism does uphold the principle of the maintenance of
the social subjectivity.
Discussion
Reasons behind Global Capitalism facilitating the proliferation and safeguarding of the
Social Subjectivity
Capitalism thrives on the principle of effective marketability and marketization, which
makes the economic system to be contingent upon how effectively it upholds and caters to the
desires of the masses. Capitalism thus strives hard to ensure that the desires of the clients are
satisfied. Given the fact that in this age of globalization, the world is coming closer and thus the

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outreach of capitalism has also become globally oriented. The capitalistic organizations are being
pushed to a relentless competition of making a mark in the global sphere in order to taste
success. The broader the outreach, the greater is the measure of success. This narrative can be
used to define the nature of global capitalism in this globalized world (Uhlmann, 2016).
With the coming closer of the people from different parts of the world, the various
cultures of the world are also coming closer, and that is creating the hurdle of catering to a
heterogenous client base, coming from different cultural, ethnic and religious background. The
nature of the capitalistic organizations are like that of the ‘catch all parties’ which tend to cater to
the ideological inclinations and aspirations of all the sections of the society. Similarly, the
capitalistic organizations are also oriented towards catering to all the sections of the society
without alienating any section of the society. Hence capitalism seeks to provide services to the
masses in accordance with their tastes and their desires (Uhlmann, 2016).
Capitalism seeks to cater to the customer as per their wishes and since the clientele base
is diverse, the economic system seeks to serve the subjective interests of the different clients by
means of diversifying its method of reaching out to the clients. The global capitalism functions
on the principle of adaptability and that means the services that a capitalistic organization dishes
out has to adapt itself to the taste and preferences of the various clients, which means that
capitalism does not seek to alienate any of its clients by any means. Capitalism shall strive hard
to ensure that the clients are satisfied and for that the economic system seeks to cater to the
diverse requirements of the client base. If the products of the capitalistic organizations are not
heterogenous and are designed to specifically target the client base then it shall lose out on its
lucrative business activities and also the monetary compensation (Burr, 2018).

4SOCIAL SUBJECTIVITY AND GLOBAL CAPITALISM
Another very important reason behind global capitalism being a champion of the cause of
the preservation of social subjectivity is that of the fact that the human propensity to accept
changes and innovations is very much limited. For example religious factor is one of the most
important factors in determining the client preference. A client shall always be preferring those
products which are in tandem with their religious beliefs and departure from it shall mean that
the client shall be opting out of that particular product and shall tent to exercise his or her
preference for a commodity that would be satisfying the religious practices and the observational
intricacies. A capitalistic organization shall thus be keeping in mind that the size of its client base
might be huge but that is the sum total of the client base which comprises of several sub groups.
Thus each of the sub groups must be satisfied by means of providing them with what they seek
for. Thus these are the reasons why global capitalism seeks to uphold the principle of social
subjectivity. The reasons are entrenched in the pursuit of greater share of profit and in the human
nature as per the discussion (Burr, 2018).
Having provided the reasons which have led the global capitalism to strive in favour of
preserving the social subjectivity, the discussion in the following sections shall devoted towards
providing the examples as to how global capitalism had upheld the status quo of social
subjectivity.
Evidences showing that Global Capitalism facilitates the proliferation and safeguarding
of the Social Subjectivity
As it has already been discussed that the factor of social subjectivity is of great
importance to a capitalistic organization and it has to be upheld in order to ensure a steady flow
of profit. In this particular section of the essay the discussion shall be focusing upon how the

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capitalistic organizations have upheld the principle of social subjectivity in order to ensure that it
perpetrates the continuity of its existence.
Role of the globally spread fast food chains in upholding the principle of social subjectivity
In order to substantiate this particular point two of the most famous fast food chains of
the world, McDonalds and Dominos shall be discussed. While McDonalds specializes on an
array of fast food items, with the various kinds of burgers being its prime attraction, Dominos
specializes in pizzas. Burger is an American delicacy which consists of a meat patty, usually
made of ground beef. The patty is fried and sandwiched in a bun along with salads, coleslaw,
cheese and various kinds of sauces. That is the original recipe of a burger, and also the authentic
American way of having a burger. However that might not be equally cherished by people of
other parts of the world where the food habits are different and the taste buds and preferences are
different from the standard American version. McDonalds has several outlets all over the world
and in different continents and the products are highly heterogenous. The kind of flavours that
one shall be getting at one country, might not be getting in the other as the aim of McDonalds is
to cater to the client base of a each of the nations in a different way. For example, the recipe of
burger used in America is considered to be bland and tasteless by people who are used to
intensely spicy and hot flavours, like that of in India(Rodrigues, Nikhil & Jacob, 2016). Hence
McDonalds has a special selection of menu which offers flavours which are more suitable to the
Indian taste buds, which means the food products shall be more spicy compared to the American
counterparts. Similarly, the provision of teriyaki sauce is another speciality which is found in the
McDonalds outlets of Japan. In the Middle East, McDonalds has gathered a vast customer base
by providing halal meat products in its food preparations given the fact that the major religion
followed over there is Islam and halal food products are preferred over there. The McDonalds

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outlets in the Middle East also have special seating arrangements inclusive of family sections and
bachelor sections in order to ensure that the Islamic principle of gender segregation is upheld and
respected. These are the reasons why McDonalds has been a success, it has always respected the
needs of the local people of the nation it has its outlets (Asnawi, Sukoco & Fanani, 2018).
Similarly, Pizza is an Italian dish and the flavor combinations, spices, condiments,
ingredients, techniques employed in the making of the authentic Italian Pizza might not be
possible to replicate in all parts of the world. Moreover, as it has already been discussed that the
flavours of one nation might not be preferred in another part of the world, hence the need for
improvisation of the flavours must be attempted, something which fast food chain Dominos has
done. Dominos has made Pizza famous in different parts of the world by combining the local
flavours to the dish and making it palatable to the local people (Khanna, 2016).
In this regard it becomes clear that the social subjectivity is upheld by the global
capitalistic food chains of McDonalds and Dominos by means of respecting the dietary choices
of the people and it had been a novel way of garnering profit from all over the world
Role of the International Airlines in upholding the principle of social subjectivity
In this regard the examples of Emirates and Etihad Airways shall be provided in order to
show how these two famous international airlines of the United Arab Emirates have upheld the
principle of social subjectivity.
Emirates provides a vast array of food items to its fliers and uphold the factor of social
subjectivity by means of providing the people a taste of the destination region awaiting arrival.
Emirates flies to several nations across all the continents, and it serves its fliers from a selection
of four different cuisines, Asian, Middle Eastern, European and Sub Continental, which means

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that the airline has different cuisines in its stock to offer to the fliers and in that way express their
respect for the culture and customs of the people their aircrafts fly to (Qureshi, Khan & Saif,
2017).
Etihad airways on the other hand has sought to uphold the principle of social subjectivity
by means of expressing solidarity with the specific communities on their festivals. 2019 is
supposed to be the year of tolerance and Etihad airlines has sought to observe it by means of
introducing its initiative of the Ramadan fridge which consists of food items and water to be
distributed to the passengers at various destinations to be eaten as a part of the Iftar meal.
Previously, Etihad Airlines had also launched their promotional videos on the occasion of the
Kuwait national day and also on the Indian festival of Diwali to express their love and solidarity
with the revelers (Bose, 2018).
Thus in this regard Emirates and Etihad had upheld the principle of social subjectivity by
means of expressing their solidarity and respect for the local cultural practices.
Adverse effects of non conformity to the principle of social subjectivity
The case study of the failure of global food joint, KFC in the Israeli market must be
provided to justify this particular point. KFC is famous for its fried chicken which is its signature
dish. The recipe used involves the mixing of the milk powder in the marinade that goes into the
making of the chicken fries. That recipe is unfit for consumption to the Jewish population, which
dominates the demography of the nation, as mixing of dairy and meat products are strictly
forbidden according to the Jewish law of Kosher or Kashrut which stipulates the dietary
regulations that Jews are expected to follow. Since the product of KFC does not adhere to the
religious requirement of the Jews, hence it had been a failure in Israel (Kliestikova & Janoskova,

8SOCIAL SUBJECTIVITY AND GLOBAL CAPITALISM
2017). Thus not upholding the principle of social subjectivity can cause global capitalistic
systems to collapse.
Conclusion
It thus becomes clear that the principle of social subjectivity is upheld by global
capitalism to ensure that the existence of the organizations remain intact. Breach of the principle
of social subjectivity could produce untoward consequences for the capitalistic organizations.

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References
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Asnawi, N., Sukoco, B. M., & Fanani, M. A. (2018). Halal products consumption in international
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Khanna, P. (2016). A content analysis of emotional and rational appeals in selected products
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Bose, I. (2018). The Strategic Environment of the Aviation Industry in UAE: A Case Study on
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