Clash of cultures?

Comparative Sociology

Week 17

Recap

• Looked at different forms of capitalism

• Agreement that there are differences between national cultures

• But what those differences are and how they relate to other factors in each society is debated

Outline

• New world order– Conflict within post-colonial relationships

• Cultural imperialism– Conflict between the west and the developing

word

• Clash of cultures– Conflict between Islam and the West

New World Order

• The term ‘New World Order’ has multiple definitions and different starting points.

• Post-colonial world• Collapse communist states• After attacks on the World Trade Centre

• All refer to change in macro political relationships which impact on everyday lives

Post-colonial theories

• Focuses on the power-relationships between the western and ‘third worlds’

• Examines the ongoing effects of the relationship between colonisers and colonised

• Looks at the shift from overt political control to neo-colonialism

Post-colonial

• Colonial countries begin to disconnect from their former colonisers

‘Free’ trade

• Trans-national free-market system – Liberal capitalism enforced by World

Bank/IMF– Structural adjustment

• Privatisation of utilities such as water

– Trade agreements• GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade)• NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)

Globalisation

• Growth of western dominated multinationals

Fair trade?

• Move production to labour costs– Lower wages– Child labour– Reduced health and safety

Free trade?

• Discuss with you neighbours the advantages and disadvantages the globalisation of free market capitalism?

Cultural imperialism

• Cultural imperialism is the way in which one culture is ‘forced’ onto another

• In history this has been through military power or law– Certain languages banned from education

• Often used now to explain the domination of the western media and its impact on local cultures

Cultural imperialism

• Economic dominance has been accompanied by cultural dominance, particularly through media– Growth of English as a world language– Western dominance of internet– Multinational media corporations

• Reshaping world culture to a western model?

America Dream as export?

• Disney is often the key example

Cultural dominance?

• Discuss with your neighbours to what extent you think cultural imperialism is

happening and/or a problem

Clash of cultures

• Since the collapse of the communist states debates started about a new ‘clash’ of cultures.

• A new ‘enemy’ of centred around particular Islamic cultures has been constructed in the media and political rhetoric

‘Them and Us’

• Freedom

• Democracy

• Rule of law

• Rational

• Constraint

• Totalitarian regimes

• Unjust

• Fundamentalist

‘Our values’

• New Legislation– Patriot Act (USA)

• Power to access information about everything from medical records to books bought without probable cause.

– Terrorism Act 2000 (UK)• Can stop and search for articles connected with terrorism

without having grounds to suspect the person is carrying such an article.

• Both have been used primarily on minority-ethnic groups

• Opponents of the Patriot Act have been branded as supporters of terrorism

Fundamentalism?

• Terrorism is not ‘new’ in the US or UK

• In Oklahoma City 19 April 1995 – government building– 168 people died, 500 injured

• Timothy McVeigh was not

a ‘white terrorist’ or a

‘Christian extremist’despite being linked to anti-government militias

Clash of cultures?

• Discuss with your neighbours the extent to which you think there is a clash of cultures?

Cultural Values?

• Inglehart and Norris have used the world values survey to examine the cultural divide

• They argue that in terms of political principals

such as democracy the West and Muslim countries have similar values

• The biggest divide is in attitudes towards acceptable societal behaviour– Divorce, abortion, gender equality, and gay rights

Summary

• Considered how national culture is developed through history particularly in relation to colonialism

• Considered if ‘cultural imperialism’ is a social problem

• Explored the emerging ideas about a clash of cultures

Next week

• Looking at welfare systems – particularly Europe and the US

• Look in more details at the development of different forms of welfare

• Consider the relationship between capitalism and welfare