Choose one of the two broad positions on the consequences of globalization and explain why you feel this consequence is more likely to occur. Use an existing scholar’s concept from the position or one of your own to support your stance.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

We can view globalization as producing an increasingly homogenous or heterogeneous world. These two broad positions can be further divided into “weak” and “strong” versions. For some observers, Westernization primarily implies a sense of universalism in which people around the world come to embrace a common cultural ground rooted in the Western ideals of democracy, human rights, and individual freedom. This could be termed a “weak” form of homogenization in which what is shared is a common appreciation and respect for differences (Tomlinson 1999:69).The “strong” form of the homogenization thesis, however, contends that globalization does indeed involve the destruction of indigenous or national cultures as the West continues its expansion through both economic and cultural imperialism. The world society is thus seen as characterized by a growing heterogeneity that highlights the distinctiveness of local cultures and ways of life. This view, emphasizing the combining of particular, local practices and ideas with those of foreign origin, represents what we call here a “weak” form of the heterogeneity thesis. Last, we can speak of a “strong” form of heterogeneity. Those who adopt this position maintain that globalization is leading to an increasingly fragmented world where local communities organize to resist the homogenizing tendencies associated with the spread of global, and more often than not Western, influences.