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Essay / The effects of globalization on 21st century societies and the role of religion in the analysis of Kwame Anthony Appiah
Western influence as well as the rapid evolution of the global economy are causing a change in cultures and religious cultures of the world. Whether because the price of a good increases so much that people who need it can't afford it or because demand decreases, crops in many parts of the world are declining. This is the issue addressed by Kwame Appiah, as he believes that it is inevitable that global traditions will no longer be appreciated or disappear due to advancements in knowledge and technology as well as the global economy. Appiah makes a very important connection in his analysis entitled "The Case for Contamination", in which he compares religion and culture to how they respond to the rapid changes that constitute our modern world. Throughout this article, the main questions to be addressed are: what roles do religions play in Appiah's analysis and how does my approach compare to his? These questions and many more will be analyzed in detail and my thoughts will be given for each one as well as my conclusion on the subject. To understand the role of religions in Appiah's analysis, we must first know the effect of globalization on 21st century societies. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayKwame Anthony Appiah is from a town in Ghana called Kumasi which has a festival on Wednesdays at the beginning of his article. He describes how the traditional blowing of the horn signals the arrival of the king of Asante, but he claims that the vast majority of Ghana's millions would not understand what is happening, regardless of what appears to be a traditional act. This is due to the atmosphere Appiah describes upon his arrival, where businessmen from insurance companies are on cell phones and office meetings consist of discussions about HIV/AIDS. This shows that in our rapidly developing world, even places like Ghana are becoming technologically savvy despite all the poverty and unrest faced by much of its population. Government officials, including the President of Ghana who studied at Oxford University, come from very prestigious places and are therefore considered very credible. In African countries like Ghana, where Appiah is from, it seems that only civil servants and those who have relationships with important people can enjoy any type of luxury. For this reason, the rest of the population must rely on their religion to hope and pray for a better life since no one is helping them. Even though Appiah and his family are very fortunate to be among the kings of Asante and others, they remain true to the culture of the city. This shows that even though it seems like governments use religion to control people or give them false hope instead of helping them, traditions are universal. Appiah goes on to say that this trend of people celebrating ancient cultural traditions while adapting to the modern world, such as using laptops, etc., is increasing in more and more places around the world. Since the whole world is initially moving towards a more globalized system to unify and free market world, some critics of this idea continue to believe that core cultural values are under threat. This argument is supported by the fact that homogeneity will occur between more and more regions of the world when it comes to subjects and products such as Coca Cola orglobal warming. This doesn't just stop brands, because with globalization, things like medicines and proper schools are more common to more people, leading to the overall success of humanity. Although it is true that more and more things are understood and exposed to more people, I do not believe that this makes the world homogenous or identical. This is because all regions are unique due to their specific location and the group of people they are home to, regardless of their diversity. Traditions are not affected and the only thing that changes is an increase in knowledge about certain things, which is really great because after all, knowledge is power. This leads to the question of whether it is up to the individual to decide what they want. from everything thrown at them both on the internet and other sources, or from the government controlling the masses. Groups of people who believe that the individual controls the difference of cultures, as opposed to a more globalized society, are known as cosmopolitans. Cosmopolitans disagree with critiques of globalization and believe that a rapidly changing world can be good or bad depending on how the individual responds to change. If a person decides to stay true to their heritage despite the changing global economy, that's good, but some people lose touch with themselves. One of the reasons people move away from certain traditions or lifestyles is the global economy. For a farmer who has grown coffee beans all his life and hopes to pass the tradition on to his children, a major difference in price could change everything for him and make him stop doing it. So, the farmer would have to find something else to do to meet his economic needs and the tradition disappears with change. This example is supported by Cosmopolitans, who offer different options for certain life scenarios, even if it interferes with culture, unlike criticism of globalization and the preservation of everything. Although many such phenomena are increasingly occurring around the world, it is up to the individual to be able to respond appropriately so that their values are preserved. Following discussions of increasingly globalized theory, the question arises whether places that preserve their authentic cultures should be forced to retain them or allowed to adapt to changing times. An example of this would be the popular baseball caps imported into Vietnam. The question is whether they should be allowed to import these caps or not because of the traditional red headdresses that the Zao culture of Vietnam usually wear. Since baseball caps are considered very inexpensive Western clothing, many people believe that it would be impossible for the Vietnamese to refuse imports, mainly due to the high cost of manufacturing traditional headdresses. Due to the high prices of these traditional clothing, very few people will be able to afford to practice their traditions, leading to a decrease in the overall practice of this tradition. Besides the global economy and globalization, which If traditions are changing all over the world, mental changes are also happening. These come from Western or European media influences in the form of television shows that show how people act in these media. Other people in the world could inherit some of their mannerisms and thus cause a change in the behavior of an entire sect or group. This could lead to.