Historically people travelled for long periods of time, just to exchange cultural practices, goods, ideas, etc. Even the idea of missionary work is in a way one of the early effects of globalization, transplanting religions originating on one continent to all different areas of the world. Beyond people traveling the globe for religious purposes, migration has played a huge role in how certain areas have become a melting pot of different ideas, cultures, and religions. As we all have learned from our American history classes, migration of the British people to the America's had a very negative effect on the Native Americans, one of the many possible downfalls to the ever increasingly globalized world.
In today's day and age, a person in the United States has numerous opportunities to experience the positive effects of globalization in their daily life. As far as culture goes, you can often find books in your local library from all different continents of the world. In most major cities there are restaurants from dozens of different countries and cultures. If you go to a larger college, the odds are good that you will find dozens of people who speak multiple languages, and/or come from incredibly diverse people groups. Often times we feel the positive effects of globalization without even realizing it.
In an ideal world, globalization would allow for the blending of cultures, without the loss of any cultural identities. People would only reap the positive benefits of the idea, sharing culture would be easy etc. Unfortunately with globalization, there is the argument that individual aspects of culture may be swallowed by the global culture as a whole. When a dominant culture group comes into a place, where many smaller cultures are thriving, there is a chance, that the dominant culture group will start to envelope the smaller ones making cultural identity seem more uniform. Of course there is also the chance that the dominant culture group will begin to add aspects of the individual groups to it's identity, but the odds historically have not been in favor of that.
Interdependence becomes an increasing factor in our ever globalizing world. Not only are cultural ideas being shared, but aspects of everyday life are becoming interdependent on each other. The successful economy in one state, or nation, can be heavily dependent on other countries and states. While this has allowed many countries to thrive whereas otherwise they might be struggling, there is the argument that this takes away jobs from local entities. For instance, large U.S based conglomerates often outsource manufacturing of their goods to one of the countries in which labor is significantly cheaper. This allows companies half way around the world to provide jobs to thousands of people in poverty stricken areas, where before they may or may not have had the opportunity to work. Whether or not this is taking advantage of the cheaper wages out of country or not, is an ethical debate which has long been had and will continue to have.
Ultimately, globalization effects us in ways both clear and obtuse. We may not always know when we are supporting other countries and vice versa, but the interdependence that countries have created is an exciting and often times positive experience. There are things which we, as a culture, should remain aware of in regards to globalization. The hope is that the more we become a global economy sharing ideas and cultures, we can learn from one another and create the largest melting pot consisting of the world.
In an ideal world, globalization would allow for the blending of cultures, without the loss of any cultural identities. People would only reap the positive benefits of the idea, sharing culture would be easy etc. Unfortunately with globalization, there is the argument that individual aspects of culture may be swallowed by the global culture as a whole. When a dominant culture group comes into a place, where many smaller cultures are thriving, there is a chance, that the dominant culture group will start to envelope the smaller ones making cultural identity seem more uniform. Of course there is also the chance that the dominant culture group will begin to add aspects of the individual groups to it's identity, but the odds historically have not been in favor of that.
Interdependence becomes an increasing factor in our ever globalizing world. Not only are cultural ideas being shared, but aspects of everyday life are becoming interdependent on each other. The successful economy in one state, or nation, can be heavily dependent on other countries and states. While this has allowed many countries to thrive whereas otherwise they might be struggling, there is the argument that this takes away jobs from local entities. For instance, large U.S based conglomerates often outsource manufacturing of their goods to one of the countries in which labor is significantly cheaper. This allows companies half way around the world to provide jobs to thousands of people in poverty stricken areas, where before they may or may not have had the opportunity to work. Whether or not this is taking advantage of the cheaper wages out of country or not, is an ethical debate which has long been had and will continue to have.
Ultimately, globalization effects us in ways both clear and obtuse. We may not always know when we are supporting other countries and vice versa, but the interdependence that countries have created is an exciting and often times positive experience. There are things which we, as a culture, should remain aware of in regards to globalization. The hope is that the more we become a global economy sharing ideas and cultures, we can learn from one another and create the largest melting pot consisting of the world.
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