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CULTURAL GLOBALISATION: THE ROLE OF SOUTH, EAST AND SOUTHEAST ASIA www.IndianJournals.com Members Copy, Not for Commercial Sale Downloaded From IP - 115.248.73.67 on dated 27-Dec-2010 and legal systems, religion and social customs are the legacies of victors and marketers and reflect the judgment of the marketplace of ideas throughout popular history. “They might also rightly be seen as living artefacts, bits and pieces carried forward through the years on currents of indoctrination, popular acceptance and unthinking adherence to old ways. Culture is used by the organisers of society—academics, families, politicians and theologians—to impose and ensure order, the rudiments of which change over time as need dictates”. Britannica Online defines cultural globalisation as “a phenomenon by which the experience of everyday life, as influenced by the diffusion of commodities and ideas, reflects a standardisation of cultural expressions around the world. Propelled by the efficiency and appeal of wireless communications, electronic commerce, popular culture and international travel, globalisation has been seen as a trend toward homogeneity that will eventually make human experience everywhere essentially the same. This appears, however, to be an overstatement of the phenomenon. Although homogenising influences do indeed exist, they are far from creating anything akin to a single world culture”. In 1997, David Rothkopf (“In Praise of Cultural Imperialism? Effects of Globalization on Culture”, available at, http://www.globalpolicy.org) noted that while globalisation has economic roots and political consequences, it also brings into focus the power of culture Culture grows out of a systematically encouraged reverence for select customs and habits. Language, political and legal systems, religion and social customs are the legacies of victors and marketeers and reflect the judgment of the marketplace of ideas throughout popular history. in the global environment. “The homogenising influences of globalisation that are most often condemned by the new nationalists and by cultural romanticists are actually positive; globalisation promotes integration and the removal not only of cultural barriers but of many of the negative dimensions of culture”. Critics of globalisation argue the process will strip away identity and lead to a blandly uniform, Orwellian world. This, however, is an impossibility on a planet of over six billion people. More importantly, the decline of cultural distinctions may be a measure of the progress of civilisation, a tangible sign of enhanced communications and VOL 13 NO 4 WINTER 2009 WORLD AFFAIRS 17
K SYAMALAMMA AND P KRISHNA MOHAN REDDY www.IndianJournals.com Members Copy, Not for Commercial Sale Downloaded From IP - 115.248.73.67 on dated 27-Dec-2010 understanding. Successful multicultural societies, be they nations, federations or other conglomerations of closely interrelated states, discern those aspects of culture that do not threaten prosperity, stability or union (such as food, holidays, music and rituals) and allow them to flourish. Nevertheless, they do counteract or eradicate the more subversive elements of culture (exclusionary aspects of language, political– ideological beliefs and religion). Rothkopf added that history has shown that to bridge cultural gaps successfully and serve as a home to diverse people, society requires certain social institutions, laws and structures that transcend culture. Furthermore, the history of a number of ongoing experiments in multiculturalism, such as in the European Union, India, South Africa and the United States (US), suggests that workable, if not perfected, integrative models do exist. Current trends that fall under the broad definitional umbrella of globalisation are accelerating a process that has taken place throughout history as discrete groups become familiar with one another, ally and commingle—ultimately becoming more alike. The drivers of today’s rapid globalisation are improving methods and systems of international transportation, revolutionary and innovative information Successful multicultural societies discern those aspects of culture that do not threaten prosperity, stability or union (such as food, holidays, music and rituals) and allow them to flourish. Nevertheless, they do counteract or eradicate the more subversive elements of culture (exclusionary aspects of language, political– ideological beliefs and religion). technologies and services and dominating international commerce in services and ideas. Their impacts affect language, lifestyles, religion and almost every other component of culture. Technology today is not only transforming the world, it is creating its own metaphors as well. Satellites carrying television signals expose people on opposite sides of the globe to a wide range of cultural stimuli (ibid). The US is seen as dominating this global traffic in ideas and information—American movies, music, software and television are so dominant, so sought after and so visible that they are now available literally everywhere on the Earth. They influence the aspirations, lives and tastes of virtually every nation, although in some, they are viewed as corrupting (ibid). It is however, difficult to agree with this viewpoint, 18 WORLD AFFAIRS WINTER 2009 VOL 13 NO 4
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