Practice Essay #13: Globalization and Elimination of Cultural Differences

Question: Globalization eliminates important cultural differences. Describe a specific situation in which globalization might not eliminate important cultural differences. Discuss what you think determines whether or not globalization eliminates cultural differences.

Answer:
With the advancement in technology, the means of traveling from one place to another have become fairly convenient and fast. This has lead to increased interactions amongst countries and increased the impact that each country has on one another or simply put globalization. The statement suggests as a country become more globalized or more connected with other nations some of the important culture differences that exist between the countries are eliminated or are lost as a result of the integration and assimilation of the cultures.

Although integration and assimilation of cultures do occur with increased interactions amongst nations, not all cultural differences are eliminated in the process. Certain cultural differences are retained by the people of those countries or are taken up by the people of the interacting country. A good example to look at when considering the effects of globalization would be the United States. The US is considered a melting pot of cultures since the population is tremendously diverse with people from almost every country and culture. Although with such a diverse population, the people of this country are able to coexist with one another without any troubles while still maintaining their individual culture. It can also been seen that certain cultural differences are assimilated into the “main” culture through certain holiday celebrations such as St. Patrick’s Day.

Globalization has lead to increased interaction amongst nations and the impact that they have on one another. Cultural differences can be eliminated in the process of globalization through integration and assimilation. Integration and assimilation does not always lead to the complete elimination of cultural differences. The people can come to integrate into the main culture while still retaining their own individual culture. Another scenario would be that the cultural difference is embraced and picked up by the main culture. So what seems to determine whether cultural differences are eliminated or not in the process of globalization revolves around whether or not people of that culture choose to retain their differences and to pass it on to their children or whether or not the cultural differences are embraced.