1.0 introduction
Western civilization can be traced back in history. Slave trade, missionary work, exploration, imperialism, colonialism and more recently globalization created a platform for western culture to go viral and influence other cultures to the extent of almost overshadowing them. From that historical perspective, it is thus clear that most affected societies are mainly from the developing world. The native cultures mostly affected include the Asian, African and Latin American cultures. Though to some extent western culture has been instrumental in improving life conditions in the developing world, this has come at a very steep price. With time, cultural erosion has been experienced in these countries and the ultimate result is that the culture of some native societies is at the brink of extinction. Globalization and modernization alludes to the influence that modern nations have on the so called developing nations and societies. These influences result from direct contact, for example through the opening of a Western corporate office or manufacturing plant in a developing nation. The influences can also be indirect, such as the transmission of Western cultural values to non-Western societies through mediums such as television, literature, and goods shipped to local areas. Globalization and modernization can have both positive and negative impacts on the cultural practices of non-Western societies, and deciphering the impact of these influences is the subject of this paper. The paper shall particularly examine the impacts of western civilization on Indian culture and on the African culture.
2.0 The Impact of Globalization on the Indian Culture
The first facet of the Indian culture that is being influenced by the western culture is the dress code. Initially, Indians wore traditional dresses but this has been replaced by western clothes such as jeans, t-shirts and mini-skirts. Indian dresses such as the Dhoti, Turban, Sari, Laanga-blouse and the Dhanga are becoming rarer by the day. There place in the society has been relegated to special Indian occasions unlike initially where they were part and parcel of every day life. It must be mentioned that most of these western cloths can not necessarily be regarded as decent and thus have been associated with the increasing moral decay. Family ties have also significantly deteriorated. Initially, family links were upheld the family unit was an important institution that provided a forum for the transfer of cultural knowledge and tradition from the older generation to the younger. Extended families lived together allowing contact and daily interaction. Today, due technology, most Indian youth prefer their own company as they can link up with friends online. Slowly, the youth are losing their cultural identity and replacing it with the western one. In the past, most celebrations in India were religious and Hindu in nature. But due to Westernization, the situation has significantly changed. Most Indian youth are celebrating western holidays such as Christmas, Valentines, and New Year’s amongst others. This integration of Western holidays in the Indian culture has resulted to the continued erosion of the religious concept of this society. This change in Indian culture is attributed to the western media and British colonization.
3.0 The Impact of Globalization on the African Culture
Modernization and western civilization has had adverse impacts on the African cultural practices and beliefs. For instance, the institution of education has undergone significant changes that have subsequently resulted in value system distortion. Initially, the African education system was informal and mode of knowledge transmission was hands-on. In other words, the system equipped the youth with skills that ensured one’s survival and peaceful coexistence with the rest of the community. Western civilization on the other hand has emphasized the theoretical approach of education. This has resulted to a knowledgeable but impractical society. The end result is that most graduates of the Westernized education system are unable to cope with life related challenges. This is the case because western education has generated into a symbol for prestige rather than human development unlike the traditional African education system. In addition, the African culture has been presented as inferior by the western education. For example in most countries, the traditional languages have been second-rated to the western ones. The basis for intelligence and merit has been on the fluency of these foreign languages
As a result of globalization, civilization and modernization, there has been moral decay in African societies. This has mainly been propagated by technological advancement and the media. Most African culture clearly stipulated the mode and nature of interaction between the young and the old in the society. This was in terms of language, dress code, code of conduct amongst other levels of interaction. But, due to civilization, the African moral fabric is slowly being eroded. For instance the current fashion trends border on nudity. This has resulted in an increase in cases of casual sex, rape cases and disrespect to the elderly which were initially unheard off. There is also rampant use of foul language indiscriminately such as the use of curse words emulated from icons and celebrities in the western movies, contributing to the negative influence on the African culture . The situation has been worsened by emergence of fetish sexual practices such as homosexuality and defilement of minors. Initially, the African culture was based on heterosexuality but the case has changed as a result of globalization. The institution that has been affected most by this radical change in morality is marriage. Due to this, divorce cases have become widespread in the African continent unlike before. Marriage is slowly becoming meaningless to the present and future generations as the probabilities of separation sore. This is evident by an increase in single parent families in most African states.
Family ties have also been significantly weakened in the African continent. At first, the extended family was viewed as the source of security and social vitality. Presently, because of economic reasons, family ties have been limited to a nuclear level. Also, as result of white collar employment, most families have been separated. In the bid to provide for their families, most Africans have been lured to urban centers and consequently leaving their families in rural areas. This rural to urban migration of the working class can be blamed for the current societal misfits because the parents have little role in shaping their children’s futures. Also, the African culture initially stipulated that child upbringing was a preserve for the whole community. This has drastically changed mainly due to capitalism whereby each person is responsible only for their children’s wellbeing. This aspect of the society has led to an increase in street children and social vices amongst the African youth. These drastic changes in family ties and relations can be pinned down to the dynamism of the economic landscape. The capitalistic nature of global markets has encouraged unnecessary competition and thus this erosion of family ties. Eccentricity and selfishness have become the order of the day whereby no one wants to be their brother’s keeper.
Power relations with in the society have also drastically shifted. The African culture specifies that the man is the head of the family and thus breadwinner and sole decision-maker. The western culture however, vouches for affirmative action whereby both male and female are treated on the same basis. Most women have become career oriented at the expense of family life and domestic responsibilities. This has facilitated the exponential growth in divorce cases in African countries. Non-governmental Organizations and foreign human rights are to blame for this situation. In addition to this, the governance system has changed. Presently, most African government’s priority is to meet the needs and demands of the Western powers at the expense of their citizenry. Governance is no longer driven by the sense of duty to one’s people as it was in the past. Due to this, there has been increase in corruption and human suffering. Shortages are the order of the day in Africa because her resources are busy being depleted by foreign powers leaving little for the natives.
As can be seen in the above discussion the western influences on the African culture and society have been largely negative. It is also worth to note that the influences have been both direct and indirect. The educational system has been affected directly due to colonialism, missionary work and most recently the phenomenon of globalization which emphasizes on western educational standards as the measure of competence. The moral decay has been attributed to direct contact through tourism and indirect interaction via the media and social networks. Unfortunately despite the clear negative effects of the western culture the African youths and community at large has responded by absorbing the western culture blindly while shunning their own culture.
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