Negative Effects Of Globalization On Culture

ARC Year 2 / 2014 Research Essay

Examine the positive and negative impacts of globalization on culture

Wesley Cheng

G2 (25)

Globalisation has made the world become increasingly interconnected as a result of increased trade and cultural exchange. Culture can be defined as shared patterns of learned behaviour, attitudes and knowledge. Culture is dynamic as it constantly changes as new cultural traits and ideas are added to it. Culture has three major components, technological, sociological and ideological subsystems. They are the cultural products and productions, interactions within a society and the ideas and beliefs of the culture respectively. Each component comprise as culture as a whole.

One positive impact globalization has

Many countries are now adopting Western culture, leaving their own cultural heritage behind. Why do most people all want to adopt Western culture? Well, it stems from the feeling that Western culture is more desirable and sophisticated. A good example is the English language. Language is an integral part of culture as it allows people of same race to communicate with each other; language also makes that culture unique. English language has however emerged as the universal language and a symbol of success. Look at Singapore. Compared to 30 years ago, many parents now communicate with their children solely in English as they believe that the language is important in attaining social success. Now many youths in Singapore are unable to use their mother tongues fluently. Worse, Singaporean Chinese who can speak dialects have decreased markedly. This results in those languages to become endangered or even extinct. This is a sign of how influential cultures are rampantly causing local cultures to fade and

The rise of Islamic fundamentalism is seen as a counter to the undesirable influence of permissive Western culture or what is commonly termed as cultural imperialism. This encounter can be destructive towards one culture, while strengthening the other culture. When an ethnic group feels that its culture is endangered, it will resort to extreme measures to protect their tradition. Advocates of Islamic fundamentalism stick by Islamic ideals over Western values and culture. The Iranian revolution in 1978 to 1979 which installed the Khomeini regime saw the destruction of anything ‘Western’. Bars and cinemas were set ablaze and massive riots took place. The regime carried out ruthless persecutions, incarcerations, torture, mass executions of opponents. Estimates for the number of casualties on the protester’s side alone range from 3,000 to 6,000. [cite source].

Another negative impact of globalization is the adoption of unhealthy lifestyles. Though losing a country's culture is undesirable, it is sometimes best for a culture to be phased out as that culture promotes unhealthy lifestyles. One example is Bhutan, this country has a population of 800 000 people, half of them being youths. Bhutan youths