Discuss strong/weak versions of increasingly homogenous/heterogeneous world. Choose a particular one of these perspectives and defend why you feel it most accurately depicts the result of globalization.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

There are two broad positions into which most scholars fall on this question, depending on whether they view globalization as producing an increasingly homogenous or heterogeneous world. These two broad positions can be further divided into “weak” and “strong” versions. For those who view globalization as a homogenizing force, technological advances in communication and transportation are seen as leading to the creation of a unified, interconnected “world society” where the world’s population becomes integrated into a common culture. Yet, to the extent that globalization is tied to the expansion of Western capitalism and culture, this raises the issue of specifying what the West is actually exporting around the globe. 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. This is a homogenization or universalism bred from conquest and the perpetuation of global inequalities as corporate capitalism and the ideology of consumerism continue their invasion of national and local cultures and ways of life. 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.