Globalization, Culture, and Homogenization: A Sociological Analysis

This essay examines the impact of globalization on culture, particularly focusing on the trend of homogenization driven by the expansion of American companies worldwide. It discusses how this trend affects cultural and traditional factors, as well as food and customs, leading to a loss of diversity and increased westernization. The essay references the concept of cumulative cultural variation and how technological advancements, especially the internet, have facilitated cultural exchange and knowledge sharing. It also explores the psychology behind the formation of social groups and the historical evolution of human societies. The author argues that while globalization promotes unity through shared preferences for global products, it can also reinforce individual cultures as people seek to protect their traditions and values from external influences, citing examples of government interventions like China's efforts to preserve its language and culture. Ultimately, the essay concludes that globalization is a complex process with both positive and negative impacts, but it ultimately promotes individual cultures and traditions on a global stage. Desklib provides similar essays and study resources for students.

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global business enrolement
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The article ‘Does Globalization mean we will become one culture’ written by Pagel
(2014), published in BBC states that American based companies like Coca Cola, Starbucks
and Facebook are expanding their businesses worldwide. Due to their existence around the
globe, huge impact can be seen not only on cultural and traditional factors but also upon food
and customs of society in which they are implanted. In fact, this trend has made
homogenisation of cultures also and led to loses in diversity along with westernisation among
many cultures.
To get proper knowledge about this evolving trend, the author specifies the idea of
cumulative cultural variation and our capacity to grant cultural variations that has been
augmented due to technological advancements. The increase in use of internet has even
allowed people living in remote areas share their knowledge with succeeding generations to
reach larger number of individuals. Consequently, culture is taken as cumulative due to the
reason humans pick what are left by others and the tradition continues forever (Jones, 2017).
Pagel (2014) describes that psychology that allows people forming and cooperating
small tribal groups, go even beyond by explaining the same phenomenon which makes
possible for others to form larger social groups by relying on the notion of homogenisation
and globalisation against cultural diversity. Moreover, to support this argument, the author
goes throughout the history, revealing about early age humans who lived in small bands
before ‘chiefdoms’ were created in states like UK and US. Thus, it can be seen that tribal
people evolved their psychology including competing tendency, ability to manage larger
groupings and temperament for producing diversified cultures.
The author highlights several factors that can seize the trend of homogenization that
includes demography and scarcity of resources. In fact, the author states that people may

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realise that they have touched the crowning in standard of living and at certain point of time,
it may result in increasing individualism.
In response to the question asked in the article, according to me, the rise of
technology along with democratization of internet and social media had brought people closer
immensely. Since, people have access over global products, largely from American
industries, they become united due to similar preferences in domestic products. However,
selection of products may further give scope to identify and select products that can be
dissimilar form other cultures (Meyer, 2009). Even, I think that although homogenising has
few impacts, globalisation has ability to reinforce culture as people feel threatened to it.
Culture, whether local or national tries to defend themselves form impacts of globalisation
while promoting their own traditional customs and values.
Apart from it, many governments in countries attempts to protect their traditions and
local culture, mostly protecting their national language by imposing restrictions to use what
they affirm as external cultural interferences. For example, Chinese government removed
foreign languages to protect the purity of their own culture as well as regional language. It
scrutinised other foreign brands due to which around 20,000 western company brands had to
change their names sounding like Chinese names (Globalization101.org , 2011).
At the end, it can be said that homogenisation trend appears to have many challenges.
According to me, globalisation it a rigid process that might impact cultures negatively or
positively but at the end promotes individual culture and traditions in front of the world.

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References
Globalization101.org , 2011. Culture and Globalization. [Online]
Available at: https://my.uopeople.edu/pluginfile.php/57436/mod_book/chapter/38900/
POLS1503U6glob101cultureandglob.pdf
[Accessed 14 09 2018].
Jones, O., 2017. Will Globalization Create a One-World Culture?. [Online]
Available at: https://bigthink.com/ideafeed/pondering-a-one-world-culture
[Accessed 14 09 2018].
Meyer, K. E., 2009. Corporate Strategies under Pressures of Globalization: Globalfocusing.
[Online]
Available at: http://www.bath.ac.uk/management/research/pdf/2009-03.pdf
[Accessed 14 09 2018].
Pagel, M., 2014. Does Globalization mean we will become one culture?. [Online]
Available at: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120522-one-world-order
[Accessed 14 09 2018].