Globalization is the expansion of economic, political, and cultural processes until they reach the global scale. It is largely considered to have begun from the Western world, from colonization and slavery to trade. However, now the Western world is seemingly turning against the globalization process it began.
Nearly half the populations of the U.S. and Europe wish to go back to a pre-1980s world so that local communities may return to their traditions without feeling threatened by exposure to other cultures, traditions, etc.
It could be said that the Westernization of the rest of the world doesn’t necessarily break down cultural barriers and turn us all into a common people. Rather, it may be that it allows other people to “[adopt] Western ideas and weapons while accentuating their far deeper cultural and historical differences.” This can be both a good and bad thing; it allows a shared way of communication and understanding without deeply altering one’s culture and way of life. However, it can also become a fuel for the widening rich-poor gap in other nations once their businesses and economy conform to the Western way.
In the words of an Alaska Dispatch News article says, “[Globalization] speeds things up and alters superficial behavior. But let us not fool ourselves into thinking that globalization has fundamentally altered the nature and culture of those it hooks.”
sources:
human geography 