WS+Amy

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.

Since globalization can bring people increasing number of choices, which are not limited by geography, there could be more customs and cultures people can share and enjoy.

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.

There's no need to be afraid of American power to the world. Because the so-called American products themselves come from mixing culture rather than all-American, and the products from American actually confront cold reception sometimes.

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.g

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.