Emergence of one world culture?

Socrates once said that he was a citizen of the world before he was a citizen of Greece. This statement should be taken as a creed of a transnational thinking that implies we are all humans despite our cultural, ethnic or linguistic differences. And as such we should not treat each other as superior or inferior. We should cherish diversity and react positively to it, not base conflicts on it.

The emergence of global communications prompted some to enthusiastically embrace the idea that with an increased awareness of global diversity, people would become more tolerant and understanding of differences because this newly acquired knowledge would enlighten them. While that is true, a counter-tendency can also be observed: people did become aware of global diversity, yet it did not push them to be more tolerant. Instead they started, or continued, to perceive a different behavior, a custom, a tradition as inferior to theirs.

Cultural globalization might have a harmful effect in those world regions that are too vulnerable and too weak to protect themselves. On the other hand, some traditional cultures are able to selectively adopt elements of global culture to suit their goals. For example, Tibetans used IT to preserve and promote their traditions virtually around the world while they were physically endangered in their homeland.

There is a tendency to blame the United States for cultural imperialism. Some authors (e.g. Goldstein and Pevehouse, 2007) argue that "cultural imperialism is reflected in the fact that the story often revolves around US actions, reflect US values." While I do not discard this statement as untrue, I think that showing US actions might also indicate something else - that the US is one of the main troublemakers in the world. If one is aware of the biased presentation of the content, there is no fear of being culturally overwhelmed. And while many countries might be following the same story in their evening news, it does not mean it is the only thing shown. Frequently domestic issues prevail over international ones.

I cannot see the world coming to such an extreme point as embracing a uniform global culture. Identity is a multi-faceted concept that enables human beings to identify themselves on many levels. Being a global citizen does not eliminate being an African dancer.

Learn more about this author, Diana Guralev.
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