Globalization Essay
Lidiana Velazquez
Professor Alvarez
REL 3308
May 2, 2016
Globalization Question
In recent years, globalization has caused ideas and attitudes to spread throughout the world. The world has become a much smaller place. For this reason, globalization has become a highly contested issue. Some people believe that globalization is detrimental because it leads to the contamination of different cultures, thus stunting diversity. Others believe that globalization is beneficial because it presents people with choices and opportunities they didn’t have before. In Kwame Anthony Appiah’s article, The Case for Contamination, he argues that globalization is a good thing because it promotes diversity. In this article, Appiah also explains how religion can be a force of anti-cosmopolitanism.
Appiah begins the article by setting a scene. The scene is a Wednesday festival day in Kumasi, the town in Ghana where he grew up. At first, his descriptions makes it seem that Kumasi belongs to an African past. He is quick to refute this assumption by mentioning that just moments before the king arrived, people were on their cellphones. He further debunks the assumption that Kumasi is stuck in the past by disclosing that the meetings taking place next to the veranda are about contemporary issues like the educational needs of 21st century children and the teaching of science and technology at the local university. Appiah begins his article with this scene because most people are unfamiliar with Ghana and they would assume that the festival is something uniquely belonging to the past, which is not the case. In his beginning paragraphs, Appiah makes it clear that a unique culture can coexist with modernity without being “contaminated”.
Throughout the article, Appiah argues that globalization is not a bad thing. He believes that while, yes, globalization can cause homogeneity, it is also a threat to homogeneity. He references Kumasi to make his point. He claims that in Kumasi you can find all sorts of people and that globalization has not made it homogeneous, but rather it has promoted diversity in the town. Not far from Kumasi you can find villages that are fairly monocultural. They have an everyday language and an agrarian way of life. Despite this, Appiah claims that you can still probably get a discussion going about a popular public figure, like Ronaldo, and that you can probably find a bottle of Coca-Cola. Appiah argues that this is not a bad thing. In other words, the homogeneity that globalization has caused has done more good than harm. More places have access to effective medicines, clean drinking water, and schools.
In the article, Appiah recognizes that some people are resistant to the changes brought upon them by globalization. One such change is the dependence on the global economy. Appiah explains that if chocolate prices were to drop again, some farmers would have no choice but to find new crops or a different source of livelihood. Another change comes in the form of religion. Appiah reveals that missionaries came a while back, therefore many villagers are now Christians. Similarly, new Pentecostal messengers have begun to challenge the churches and condemning the old rites. However, Appiah claims that the most notable change is the change in relationships. Before, a young man would be granted land and his maternal clan would work the land with him. The man’s job was to keep his dependents fed and clothed, the children educated, and marriages and funerals arranged. Of course, the man’s job was also to pass the farm and responsibilities along to the younger generation. All this has changed now. The young people have ample opportunities outside of agrarian life, which has become less profitable.