Topic 3: Globalization Theories: The Contemporary World (Coworld)
This document discusses two main theories of globalization - homogeneity and heterogeneity. Homogeneity refers to increasing sameness around the world as cultures, economies, and governments become more similar due to global influences like cultural imperialism and the spread of American products and ideologies. Heterogeneity pertains to increasing diversity as interactions between societies give rise to new hybrid cultural practices, economies, and political groups. Contrary to homogeneity, heterogeneity involves ongoing differences as well as new combinations of global and local influences, as seen in the concept of "glocalization."
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Topic 3: Globalization Theories: The Contemporary World (Coworld)
This document discusses two main theories of globalization - homogeneity and heterogeneity. Homogeneity refers to increasing sameness around the world as cultures, economies, and governments become more similar due to global influences like cultural imperialism and the spread of American products and ideologies. Heterogeneity pertains to increasing diversity as interactions between societies give rise to new hybrid cultural practices, economies, and political groups. Contrary to homogeneity, heterogeneity involves ongoing differences as well as new combinations of global and local influences, as seen in the concept of "glocalization."
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Module 1
Topic 3: Globalization Theories
The Contemporary World (Coworld)
Globalization Theories Globalization as a process increases either homogeneity or heterogeneity. Homogeneity – refers to the increasing sameness in the world as cultural inputs, economic factors and political orientations of societies expand to create common practices, same economies, and similar forms of government. Homogeneity in culture is often linked to cultural imperialism. This means, a given culture influences other cultures. In homogeneity, a given culture influences other cultures. A good example is Americanization through global economy that brought American products, ideas, images, practices and behavior to the world. This process also spread ideologies like capitalism, neoliberalism and the market economy in the world. The political realm also suffers homogenization if one takes into account the emerging similar models of governance in the world. Ritzer (2008) claimed that, in general, the contemporary world is undergoing the process of McDonaldization. It is a process by which Western societies are dominated by the principles of fast food restaurants. It involves the global spread of rational systems, such as efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control. Heterogeneity pertains to the creation of various cultural practices, new economies, and political groups because of the interaction of elements from different societies in the world. Heterogeneity refers to the differences because of either lasting differences or of the hybrids or combinations of cultures that can produced through the different transplanetary processes. Contrary to cultural imperialism, heterogeneity in culture is associated with cultural hybridization. Contrary to cultural imperialism, heterogeneity in culture is associated with cultural hybridization. A more specific is “glocalization” coined by Roland Robertson (1992). It explain that as global forces interact with local factors or a specific geographical area, the “glocal” (global+ local) is being produced. This is not only happening in culture but also in economic issues and in political institutions.