Global Culture

Global Culture

1. Followers of modernisation theory viewed traditional cultures as 'pre-modern' and in some ways a barrier to development

2. Traditional ethic, religious and kinship cultural ties could be seen as largely irrelevant to the pursuit of profit and power

3. From the standpoint of the USA and the EU, as powerful capitalist economies, the path to power was one where the relationship between businesses and workers was maximised

4. We have seen how modernisation might be used to explain the position of the USA and the European colonial superpowers

5. The dominance of the USA as an unrivalled superpower since 199, plus the growing power of the EU, has led to some people to identify a global culture

6. It is difficult to define exactly what this global culture is, but some characteristics are commonly linked to it:

   • A culture of consumerism
   • A culture of capitalism and the importance of attaining wealth
   • A white, Anglo-Saxon culture with English as the dominant language
   • A culture that 'cherry picks' and adapts selected parts of other world cultures and absorbs them

7. Americanisation

   • Global culture is most often exemplified by the ubiquity of consumer icons such as Coca-Cola and McDonalds
   • It is fair to say these symbols are global
   • In the case of McDonalds, 31,000 restaurants worldwide are serving about 50 million people every day
   • The USA is seen as the most powerful force in cultural globalisation, and the process is often referred to as 'Americanisation'
   • Cultural globalisation is not quite as straightforward as might first appear
   • In India, McDonalds has had to adapt its menu to suit local tastes and the Hindu and Muslim religions
   • It does not sell beef or pork and has more vegetarian options than in the West
   • Throughout the world this process of local adaption or hybridisation occurs as global trends reach new areas

8. Cultural Traffic

   • Working against the idea of a global culture is the fact that the cultural traffic is not all one way, and neither are American or Western lifestyles adopted wholesale around the world
     • In the UK the curry, not the American burger, is the most popular takeaway food. There are 6 as many curry restaurants in the UK as there are Mcdonalds
     • Sushi, from Japan, has become increasingly popular food in the West
     • Some Cornerstones of American Culture, such as American football and baseball have proved difficult to export to the rest of the world
   • One area where Americanisation is strong is cinema, as Hollywood movies tend to dominate the market
   • Arguably this is an effective way of exporting Western culture to the rest of the world
   • Despite cultural globalisation, people around the world hold very different views on the merits of Western global capitalism

9. Backlash

   • The cultural backlash against the world's major superpower is complex
   • Anti-Americanism rose in the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq and George W. Bush proved an unpopular president
   • The anti-globalisation movement is often linked with anti-americanisation sentiment because many global icons originate in the USA
   • It is difficult to separate negative views of American culture from negative views of American policies and foreign policy