Cultural Diversity and the Threat of Globalization
Cultural diversity is one of the fundamental principles that explain the origin of different communities all over the world. The author equates culture to the roots of a plant, which replenish the individual with information on cultural background and values treasured by the society. Globalization, despite the numerous benefits concerning technology, poses as the most severe threat to cultural diversity.
Harmonization of Communication Languages and Ethnocide
Harmonization of communication languages is one form of ethnocide leading to the extinction of different languages and the embrace of dialects promoted by the western cultures. The proponents of globalization view cultures within the undeveloped regions as primitive and backward. However, the cultures indicate the diversity in thinking, living, and solving issues within the contemporary society. Any step towards modification of original cultures is equivalent to the destruction of the culture through the elimination of fundamental aspects that defined the traditions.
The Impact of Globalization on Languages and Cultural Education
The speech presented by Wade Davis; “Dreams from Endangered Cultures,” is a clear indication of the negative aspects of globalization on cultural diversity. According to the piece, the first indicator of cultural diversity is variance in spoken languages. Initially, the number of spoken words in the world was over 6,000 (Davis). During the time, cultural education passed from one generation to the other through the elderly members of the society. The introduction of globalization saw the harmonization of languages with greater preference offered to those languages spoken by the western cultures. Therefore, the older generation lacks the attention and presence of the younger members to transfer to them the culture. In a period of every two weeks, according to the speech, members of the older generation die with the cultural knowledge leaving, the younger generation working hard to adopt the new culture in educational institutions.
The Gradual Death of Diverse Languages and the Importance of Natural Habitat
The gradual death of diverse languages makes it impossible for the cultures to exist and grow. Proponents of globalization term the indigenous cultures as primitive due to their ways of life that do not conform to the use of technology. However, it is worth noting that the communities existed before the introduction of technology. During the time, the communities planted their food and hunted the animals without causing ecological imbalance. In some communities, such as the Kogi of the Sierra Nevada, the mountains represent sacred grounds whose protection is mandatory (Davis). The society chooses a few individuals who undergo eighteen years of preparations on how to protect the environment from destruction. Despite the perceived illiteracy of the community, they understand that the natural habitat determines the existence of human life on earth through the provision of rain and oxygen through photosynthesis.
The Conflict between Globalization and Cultural Preservation
Comparison of those ideologies and those propagated by globalization depicts two conflicting groups. In the globalized world, industrialists perceive forests as sources of energy for the upcoming industries. Therefore, the trees lost the sacred meaning placed on them by such communities. The repercussions of losing the cultures are evident in the world today. For example, massive deforestation in regions such as the Amazon is responsible for the destruction of natural habitats that house endangered species of birds, animals, and insects. More so, the practice leads to climate change and global warming, which are the most significant problems of the current generation. Therefore, the article is right in pointing out that those cultures represented diversity in solving global issues. The misconception of equating cultural diversity to primitivism of backwardness is a poor representation of the subject.
The Influence of Western Cultures on Developing Countries
The author is right in claiming that the western countries force the developing countries to forfeit their culture and embrace the new one. In their defense, western cultures claim that harmonization of the cultural aspects such as language aims at easing the process of communication. However, the western countries do not make an effort to learn the languages from the other communities. On the contrary, western countries push the other societies into learning the new dialect. If the communication aspect was genuine, they should also make an effort to learn different languages from the local cultures to diversify the communication options. However, that is not the case (Davis). The English language is one of the primary communication channels all over the world. The western countries view those who do not understand the language as illiterate (Barlow). The misconception means that the literacy of the other cultures is directly proportional to the understanding of the foreign culture brought by the westerners.
Finding a Balance between Technology, Globalization, and Cultural Diversity
Technology and globalization do not have to interfere with the cultural diversity of a country. The article proposes that the respective population should have the final choice in deciding whether to adopt the new culture or preserve the old one. For example, the Inuit people of Canada still uphold their cultural practices despite the current state of globalization. The group lives in the forest and controls all the activities that occur inside the reserve. The government of Canada does not subject the people to forceful termination of their culture. In essence, it protects them from external interference and allows them to pass their knowledge and practice to the younger generation. The example is a clear demonstration of the possibility of maintaining cultural diversity while embracing globalization in equal measures.
Globalization as a Tool for Cultural Dominance
The article, “The Global Monoculture,” authored by Maude Barlow supports the argument presented by Wade Davis. The article postulates that the western culture uses globalization as a tool for forcing the developing countries into discarding their respective careers and adopting the one from the western countries. Due to the high technological development in the western states, they document their films in English and sell the tapes in other countries as a primary way of promoting the culture. Therefore, the recordings gain an audience from many parts of the world achieving the primary objective of selling the culture. Countries such as the United States enter foreign markets such as Canada and influence the formation of laws and regulations that provide them with same markets as the cultures in the respective countries. Such measures ensure that the video recordings dominate the market in the international platform necessitating the understanding of their language to understand the tapes.
The Commercialization of Culture and Its Impact
Further, the article draws the attention of the reader to the fact that western countries turned cultural diversity into economic activity. In the past, cultural practices promoted the belief and knowledge upheld by the respective community (Davis). The teaching of cultural values and traditions was a responsibility of the grandparents without any form of commercialization. However, the dominant factor in the world today is business. Recording of the cultural practices aims at generating revenue for the people taking part in the industry. The changes suppress the communities without the resources to commercialize their culture leading to deterioration and the ultimate extinction of the practices. Therefore, Wade Davis and Maude Barlow share the same ideology that western cultures use globalization as a tool for forcing the native communities to drop their traditions and adopt the new ones.
Varied Approaches to Expressing Ideas
A comparison of the two texts reveals the varied literal approaches used by the authors in expressing the ideas. The article by Wade Davis is a better tool for advocating for maintenance of cultural diversity as compared to the literary works of Maude Barlow. Firstly, “Dreams from Endangered Cultures” begins with a very captivating introduction. The author captures the emotions of the audience by making them relate to the feeling of traveling to foreign places that practice different religions and cultures. After the introduction, he goes ahead to outline the similarities as well as the differences between human beings who practice different cultures. From the introduction, it is evident that the author introduces the topic from an angle that the reader is familiar with, before engaging in new information (Barlow). In “The Global Monoculture,” the author goes straight to the point without giving the audience a chance to understand the topic from a historical perspective. Both articles address the same issue at different lengths. However, the first article will be better for people of lower academic levels since it is easy to understand.
The Importance of Examples in Illustrating the Topic
The second article seems to fit people of a higher academic understanding in the field of globalization and culture. Apart from the appealing introduction, the first article offers ample examples all over the text. For example, the report cites different marginalized communities that engage in various cultural practices, which are not familiar to many people globally. A good example is the massacre of missionaries by the Worani people of Northeastern Ecuador for the perception that they were ghosts (Davis). The people had not seen any one-dimensional photos. Therefore, they mistook the images for spirits and killed the missionaries to eliminate them. From one example in Ecuador, the author presents another instance from Northwest Amazon where the indigenous tribes made powerful psychoactive drugs without any knowledge in Chemistry of labs for their experiments. The first article is diverse in the examples used. However, the second article offers examples from the western countries limiting the diversity. The illustrations make it easier for the audience to understand the topic and comprehend that the effects of globalization on cultural diversity are not specific to a particular area or aspect of life.
Appreciating Both Sides of Globalization
There are many aspects of cultural diversity such as initiation rites, burial rights as well as languages spoken. The variety explains the different solutions presented to different problems in different parts of the world. It is wrong to kill the diversity by pushing people from certain parts of the world to adopt foreign cultures and extinct their own. Promotion of culture expresses the wealth possessed by culture all over the world. Globalization is responsible for the erosion of culture for the marginalized communities to create a neutral ground bearing the characteristics of foreign cultures from the western world. Both articles express displeasure at the ethnocide directed towards the communities originating from the marginalized areas such as Africa. As much as the negative aspects of globalization are many, the positive attributes are not minimal. For example, globalization is responsible for technology, which makes life easier in forms of communication as opposed to the traditional models. Therefore, it is good to appreciate both aspects of the vice.
Works Cited
Barlow, Maude. "‘Free Trade’ versus Culture and Democracy." The Global Monoculture, 2000,
Davis, Wade. "Transcript of "Dreams from Endangered Cultures"." TED: Ideas Worth Spreading, 2003, www.ted.com/talks/wade_davis_on_endangered_cultures/transcript?language=en.
