Globalisation and homogenising of human experience

A number of conflicting thoughts exist around the concept of globalisation. Many believe globalisation doesn’t always produce a homogenised human experience around the world. However, in a number of cases, we can argue that it has created a homogenised human experience. Take the global financial crisis of 2008 whose upset started from the sub-prime mortgage sector in the United States of America but spread to other parts of the world. No country was alienated from the crisis. Therefore, in such an instance, we could possibly view the globalisation process as being able to produce a homogenised human experience. Reason being that world economies are closely knit; which explains why an imbalance in one region has the propensity to offset same in another region, just as the financial crisis impacted on the US’s ability to import as it used to or give aid to developing countries. Its impact then spread to Europe, Asia, and then Africa. Some countries in Europe still suffer from the adverse impact of the crisis.

Another way in which globalisation has produced the homogenising experience is in transportation. Means of moving goods and people have experienced remarkable transitions. Before the advent of motor vehicles, humans relied majorly on animals to move people and goods from one place to another. Usually, a cart is attached to the animal, sometimes referred to as “beast of burden”. Motor vehicles were invented in the 20th century and soon became a homogenised experience in the 21st century. Global trends such as the movement of containers via ships made motor vehicles accessible in all parts of the world. Humans around the world now use motor vehicles as a means to transport persons and goods from one place to another.

In the same vein, electricity has produced another form of the homogenising experience associated with globalisation. Prior to the invention of electric bulbs, candles were the major sources of light. As economies transited, electric bulbs became the major source of light. Currently, no human activity around the world is completed without one form of electricity or the other. The invention of electricity has been spectacular and remains one of the greatest inventions of all time. The list can go on and on including the internet, postal system, television, telephone and camera.

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Notwithstanding all these, it would be difficult in other cases for globalisation to produce a homogenised human experience. For instance, cultural heritages are still preserved in many African societies. Despite the spread of Western culture, many African societies still dress in their traditional attires and play traditional music. There are still African villages were people either wear leaves or no form of covering. However, Western culture has made significant progress in changing traditional norms and cultures. Case in point is rap music! Rap music is a form of music popular amongst the African-Americans. This form of music is popular amongst young people. In the course of time, the influence of rap music spread from the USA to Europe, Africa and even Asia. Presently, rap music is being sung in French, Spanish, and several African dialects including Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa in Nigeria. The same applies to dressing, where people are seen wearing hoods in tropical regions. Hoods traditionally are meant for winter seasons. That surely is the impact of globalisation. Even at that, there are still some elements of preserved African cultures.

In all these, the spread of globalisation has been made possible through the media. The question we all should ask ourselves is: has globalisation preserved or damaged our societies? Either of the two answers is arguable! The fact remains that globalisation is a necessary evil. Globalisation basically is the transfer of beliefs, knowledge and way of life beyond domestic borders. Knowledge transfer is necessary for societies to grow. No economy can achieve optimal growth in isolation. This is proven taking into account that the strongest countries source raw materials from developing countries in exchange for skill transfer.

There is also the school of thought where globalisation is seen as developed countries taking advantage of less-developed countries. In the pretence of skills transfer, some developed countries have taken undue advantage of less-developed countries. Multinationals source cheap labour from less-developed countries or even exploit natural materials, degrading the environment in the process. In many cases, labour laws are disregarded, with stern focus placed on producing optimally at the lowest available cost. In addition to cheap labour, the issue of free trade zones is sometimes perceived to be unfair. In our time, we have come to see global corporations bigger than nation-states. The unfortunate truth is that we are unlikely to see things get better as the need to amass more wealth will continue to favour the bad side of globalisation.

Michael Ebbi