Difference and diferent always caught my attention. Actually, excentric!
The whole debate on the subject of cultural diversity is that the economic model, modern society has adopted, - some say capitalism, other consumism, others simply follow along - is a predatory obliterating machine that doesn´t care about traditions, rituals, costums, symbolism, unless "it" can profit from it.
Well, I would like to make some observations about this stament. i know I exagerated and it came out a bit poetic but it does bring about some of the most relevant questions on the subject, in my opinion.
1. Globalization and Homogenization
First of all, it is very true that the economy is the jugular vain of our society, it has most of our attention and it tends to lead us to competiviness and anthropofagism*. Money, property, credit, wealth. I mean, at this point I'm talking about cultural industry and mass production not only from the point of view of the idolizing way of life of the rich and famous and trends, fashions, labels and so on and so forth. I'm also talking about what these "dreams" or "idolized life styles" stand for as a mean of production (understanding product as a good or service, doesn´t matter which). I'm talking about accessing your bank account from any part of the world and having your meal prepared in the fastest most efficient way, costumizing your whatever to suit your own needs. It's all so great, but wait a minute! What does that actually mean?
Well, let´s start with banks because we have become so good with money it deseves a paragraph at least.Here we start to talk about something that people normally don´t talk about, it is the homogenization of means of production and processes. High speed technology provided the world with the fastest most efficient system to exchange and intercommunicate. But in order to do this, of course, the system has to be homogeneous or unified, because we need to CONTROL AND ACCOUNT everything that goes on. ORDER PEOPLE ORDER, WE NEED ORDER... and how are we gonna do that if everybody has different system, different idea, different method? No, no no.. there has to be a system that interacts with everything, that is efficient, that speaks our language (first the language of those who got if first, than the others), it has to come with a manual and everybody has to follow the instructions for it to work out right.
"Globalization" started all this, some would say. Of course, globalization has as many meanings as cultural diversity, that is to say none or so many it confuses most people. So let´s just understand globalization as the interaction amongst nations and the uprising of international organisms and enterprises (transnational, governmental or non-governmental). Globalization started out with finance and economics because, let´s face it, the main source of interactiviness amongst nations and peoples is based on commercial exchange. Or exchange of some sort. Finance was only the begining of what other sectors would later apply as an strategy to widen their clientele. So the "technology" was applied and today we have food,
clothes, entertainment, cars, eletronic devices, softwares.. EVERYTHING ORGANIZED and FAST and SIMPLE. Is it?
Well, the accounting, warehouse, managerial, marketing, auditing and financing softwares and strategies surely are, especially if it is an international or multinational organization. We "modern" people like order and we seek information. under these two paradigms we develop our systems and ways of lives. Whoever can deliver the fastest and the most accurately, that is the one who is modern, who´s trendy, an outburst of innovation.
Now we're getting close to my second point which is individualization.
2. Global Individualization
Yes, yes, yes, Maurice! Because the world is filled with individuals. Individuals who want so many different things and most of all they want to be different and unique, and they want to fit in, and they want to be recognized, and they want equality, and they want what you want and I want and everybody wants and at the same time not so much. Liberty, JUSTICE, EQUALITY, TRANQUILITY, LOVE, BLAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!
What a load of crap, you say! Yes, it is, indeed. the question is why is that? So, here we are living in this world that suddenly began to shrink. It is so global that you can get in touch with people and exchange things in a real time basis. Internet is genious, telephone, telegrams.. Wow, and it allows us to have whatever we want depending on how much we're willing to spend, of course. Then, services and products that were designed for an specific crowd gained a new and wider crowd, the global crowd. Then again, whoever got it first, whoever register the label first, the idea, the genious catch is the winner of the game and this luckY one is going to conquer the world, it doesn´t matter if it is a device, a software, clothes, an exquisit delicacy, a song or a trend.
With the right propaganda, everybody from Nepal to Marrakesh is gonna feel it, they are gonna love it, they´re gonna buy it. Yes, and you, my brother, are going to profit. The greatest product of our time, in my opinion, is info. You got INFO, it is PRECISE, it is DIVERSE, it has many SOURCES and you got it FAST, it is ACCURATE, easy to UNDERSTAND. Is it cheap? for free? That is all you need to get the attention of many many people around this microspic cosmic grain of dust we like to call planet earth. Yes, give me what I want the way I want and in the size I want. Don´t give more or less, just enough to satisfy my request. Also give me storage space and high speed access, broad band connection so I won´t have to wait, to worry, to burst my brains out in order to get it.
is that what people want? I don´t think so. No, I don´t, my dear. Actually, what I think is that we´re so different that is impossible to make a single product that will interest us all and the only reason that we adopt most of the "systems" we use is because WE HAVE NOT COME UP WITH IT FIRST AND whoever did is more powerful and has more money and this lucky marvelous person/company won´t help or deal with us unless we adopt what they so cleverly developed. This whole modern paradigm is actually a monopoly paradigm. Not many enterprises and enterprenuers have enough influence to impose its "system"**.
A silly example of these kind of behaviour relates to eletronic devices. for many years most of the eletronic devices human beings could produce on this planet were not translate to not even half of the languages we speak and I'm not talking about computers or aircrafts, I'm talking about a sound system, a blender, vaccum cleaner. If you're smart enough, you've already guessed that these devices, softwares, high tech whatever were not designed for the whole world. So, this world filled with individuals has many products and services designed for some of them and advertised, sometimes provided, to a small part of them and sell out as STANDART to all of us. From haircust to cellphones, softwares and way of life, we´re fed up with all what we want. All individuals have the chance to choose, not all of them can choose as they want, BUT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT. And thisis bliss!
But, then, you ask me: I don´t understand. What's that to do with cultural diversity? I'll say, well, that is going to be my next and last point.
3. Cultural diversity - diverse culture
I feel I haven't made the global individualization clear so before talking about cultural diversity let's talk about individuals and their means. Every single individual that lives in this world is subject at some point of its existence to interaction with other beings. In this interaction they realize they´re different somehow from each other at the same time they have similar needs. so they are not so different, at all. of course, most of us, have encountered several different individuals and still does every single day. We realize we have some things in commum and others not so much. Everybody has clothes, but we all look different and wear them differently. Also, most of us have bank accounts and use their systems, but that doesn´t mean we´re all the same. It just means that in some point we all combined and pursue the same things and that´s why there is the global individualization.
Nowadays is possible to get something that is so especific for you that everybody wants one or has one. Most people have a cellphone and a cellphone serves a purpose, we might use it for the same purposes and have the same brand the same services but mine is pink and yours is plain black.
Nevertheless we all have it. But what does that has to do with cultural diversity again? Well, I guess I couldn´t really explain what I meant with global individualization but i'm gonna jump into the cultural diversity paradigm before you give up reading my ideas. Diversity is by nature a characteristic of a human being, because we have our own specific way of interacting with the world as a whole. cultural diversity is how we behave differently from each other. We all eat potatoes but we all have our own speacial way to plant it, cook it, eat it, trash it. It´s our expression as humans that signify our culture and most of us pertain to a certain group and sometimes we really want to fit in, because we are human beings and these beings live in packs we call it: family or community, cities, nations, societies. It doesn´t matter how you call it, these packs are the places where our culture condense and sometimes modify. And it is in this environments that we affirm our values, rituals, traditions, costums. But in a globalized world that is a very difficult thing to do, because we´re in touch with so many different references and sometimes they´re so appealing that we feel compelled to like it, to want it. So, comparisions are made and we start thinking what is best for us and what is good or bad or satisfying and sometimes we come to realize what we have is shitty and what the people on the shiny LCD screen in the middle of the department store windowshop have is much better, because they´re so happy and clean and white and beautiful. I should have that in navy blue!
Well, that is very sad, isn´t it? I mean, we come to realize our poor existence and suddenly we know that is not how is supposed to be! it should have been much better and I deserve this like everybody else. and we claim for equality, liberty, justice, wealth. And this is all good. However, what about the store we were looking at? was that a national store or was it a multinational? the LCD Screen we were gazing at was made by whom? the view it was showing , was it really real or were those people FACKING IT? WHAT??? WAS IT A LIE??? DOES IT MATTER TO YOU?
Yes, yes, yes Maurice. It was a bit of lie, actually, a propaganda.
Why am I talking about that? for the last time, I'm gonna try to answer that question and I hope I'll succeed this time. It is because we, human beings, have many dreams and ideals, but few, very few good systems. Our money&info driven society has had many ideals but few good ideas, and those ideas that worked are the ones that prevails because nobody came up with something better; and, if they have, Well, where are they? Maybe they got swallowed by the brain monopoly market of good ideas or maybe they never got the chance to put it in the market at all. That is because we fear the new, but we love innovation. Because innovation comes with a brand, a good brand, a brand that has money to sell its propaganda,a brand that Angelina Jolie uses, Paris Hilton and the Hanson's. But the good idea, new ideas maybe developed by a John Doe, an intelligent nobody or clever somebody that nobody recalls the name and, truly, who wants to know?
I DO! I do, yes, I do. Because, what has been proven many times over and over again is that individuals rather have what everybody has and it´s the best in the market, then give a try to some good idea. In this rollercoaster appealing consuming instintic many traditions and costumized methods of producing and processing things have been replaced and obliterated by innovating high tech speed systems. it has been crushed for being old-fashing and out of the market. did i made myself clear?
other horrible things happened together with this oblitareting systems like the disappearance of important rituals and cultures old traditional knowledge systems, but for me, the worst homogenization process ocurrs in the intellingentia department, in the development of intelligent ideas and new procedures. Speacilly because societies are bound to adopt and legitimize the well stablished and tested idea of that somebody full of money that responds by a brand or a group of brands. the monopoly of information has made us homogenized. or maybe we´re just happy to adopted something we know we won´t be responsible for updating and renewing it. We like CONFORTABLE and it´s so confortable to just accept something and not worring about it, isn´t it?
tell me, was that enough said?
not really right, ok.. let´s just say this is the first attempt. Next time 'll try to bring more concise ideas of how cultural diversity has been swept away of our society and replaced by a innovative intelligent method or system.
If we have a single tool or system that can be costumizes does that mean we´re becoming singular or plural? Which way are we going? What do you feel when I say these things?
* this is a term used by many reknowed brazilian modernists artists and it meant the obliteration of culture, as if we renegated our own traditions and adopted other in an anthropofagic act. Mário de Andrade, Oswald de Andrade, Anita Malfatti, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Tarsila do Amara are some of my favorit brazilian modernist artists, their work consisted in finding the brazilianity and turning away from the foreign european reverence.
** I'm using system too much in the text. So in order to clarify the use of this word, I would like to stress that in this specific text the word "system" refers to a method, estructure, strategy, software of device used with the intention to organize, control and manage an activity that can be commercial or social or spacial oriented. According to www.dictionary.com: " any formulated, regular, or special method or plan of procedure"
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