Cultural consequences

Globalisation affects our everyday culture: what we eat, drink, wear, listen to, and even how we think.

The fear: homogenisation. Some worry that all cultures will merge into one uniform 'global culture'. That global culture is really Western, mostly American, culture spreading everywhere. This is the soft power of US hegemony: power through attraction, shown by the worldwide popularity of blue jeans, burgers, Hollywood films and American music.

This is sometimes called 'McDonaldisation': the same fast food, the same shops and the same habits in every city. If it happened fully, the world's rich cultural heritage would shrink, which would be a loss for everyone.

But that is not the whole story. Cultures are not fixed; they have always changed and borrowed from each other. Outside influences can enlarge our choices without replacing what we have. A city can have a burger shop next to a masala dosa stall, and people can enjoy both.

Often, outside influences mix with local culture to make something new. This is heterogenisation: the opposite of a single global culture. The book's example is the khadi kurta worn over blue jeans: neither purely Indian nor purely Western, but a new combination. Fusion music, Indian-Chinese food and Hinglish are other examples.

Cultural exchange is also rarely one way: Indian films, yoga, food and festivals spread across the world too.

So outside influence can do three things to a culture: replace parts of it, add to it, or mix with it to create something new. Not all outside influence is harmful.