Culture and globalisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Culture and globalisation - Essay Example Benjamin Barber is one of the proponents of the idea that the notion of globalization is destructive for it threatens morals and religious values of people, the distinctiveness of cultures and can turn the world into one big market. There are four main points in Barbers argumentation. First of all, he presents the notion of â€Å"theme parking† which is â€Å"a kind of diversity but it is the diversity of a theme park† (â€Å"Globalization and Culture† 9). By this, he means that even though there is a diversity, it is simulated, artificial, and, in fact, is far from authenticity. Secondly, Barber argues that globalization is homogenization and standardization of culture that affects peoples cultural and aesthetic values, such as eating fast food instead of spending time with family at a dinner table. Also, the opponent of globalization states that more powerful markets, such as the American one, tend to master and destroy the weaker markets and, consequently, inf luence other cultures. Finally, Barber says that globalization is a threat not only to aesthetic but to religious and moral values of people, especially of the representatives of cultures that differ a lot from â€Å"McWorld†, such as Islamic, Hindu, and Judaic cultures, and that to some extent this threat gives rise to terrorism. Tyler Cowan, in his turn, believes that globalization is the positive trend in the development of the modern society and the entire world. He agues that â€Å"markets support diversity and freedom of choice, and trade gives a greater opportunity for artists to express their creative inspiration (â€Å"Glibalization and Culture† 8). In addition to this, Cowan claims that globalization does tend to increase difference between cultures, and at the same time it frees difference from geographical location. Tyler Cowan also refutes four arguments presented by Benjamin