WS+Kei

== The beauty of globalization is that it can free people from the tyranny of geography. Just because someone was born in France does not mean they can only aspire to speak French, eat French food, read French books, and so on. That we are increasingly free to choose our cultural experiences enriches our lives immeasurably. We could not always enjoy the best the world has to offer. ==

-> The goodness of globalization is to make people released from geographical restriction. It does not means that people born in France desire such speaking French, reading French books, or eating French dishes. Increase freedom to choose our cultural experiences makes our lives much richer. Once, sometimes it was impossible to select the best things in the world.

Fears about an Americanized uniformity are overblown. For a start, many “American” products are not as all-American as they seem; MTV in Asia promotes Thai pop stars and plays rock music sung in Mandarin. Nor are American products all-conquering. Coke accounts for less than two of the 64 fluid ounces that the typical person drinks a day. France imported a mere $620 million in food from the United States in 2000, while exporting to America three times that. Worldwide, pizzas are more popular than burgers and Chinese restaurants sprout up everywhere. -> Threatenings of Americanization are exaggerated. To begin with, a lot of "American" products, you think, are not absolutely made-in-America; In Asia MTV promotes popstars from Thai and plays rock'n roll songs with Mandarin. In addition, American products are not dominant over the world. Coka-Cola dominates only less than 3.1 percent of amount people drink in average. In 2000, French imported about $600 million in food from America, but exported three times of that to U.S. Moreover, pizzas are more wide-spreading globally than bargers and we can find Chinese restaurant all around the world.

In some ways, America is an outlier, not a global leader. Baseball and American football have not travelled well; most prefer soccer. Most of the world has adopted the (French) metric system; America persists with antiquated British Imperial measurements. Most developed countries have become intensely secular, but many Americans burn with fundamentalist fervor – like Muslims in the Middle East -> In some fields, America is rather outsider than the leader of the world. For example, Baseball and American football are not spread globally, but Soccer is. Most of the people in the world use French metric systems, but Americans still use traditional British Imperial mesurements. Most people in other developed countries become less religious, but many Americans are fanatical on religions like Muslims in the Middle East.

Cross border cultural exchange increases diversity within societies – but at the expense of making them more alike. People everywhere have more choice, but they often choose similar things. That worries cultural pessimists, even though the right to choose to be the same is an essential part of freedom. -> Cross-cultural exchange makes societies more diversified but also makes them more alike. There are more alternatives in the world, but people often select similar ones. Culture pessimists are worried about this similarity, but it is an element of freedom to have the right to select something, including the same ones with others.