Globalization: Is It Americanization?

When asked the question, is globalization Americanization I had to take a long pause and think about this. I looked at my shoes, my clothes, and my watch and had I been judging on that criterion alone my answer would have been a resounding yes. However I realised that globalization went much further than what clothes I wore and where I bought them so I broadened my horizon a bit. I started looking at history and at food and the spread of many other things and came to the conclusion of no.

I start at the point of history which states very clearly that the American culture was not the predominant culture in the world. Far greater than any spread of American culture was that of British culture due to globalization. From as early as the 1700’s when Great Britain colonized America to about the mid-early 1900’s the British Empire had vastly spread round the world. With this spread of empire around the world was also a spread of laws and culture which still remain in countries today. For example the sports of rugby and cricket are still played in India, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia etc. These sports were brought to the countries during the time of British Colonial rule.

My next point is something that everyone loves, food. The widespread of several nations’ foods throughout the world has been very common. McDonalds it is arguably the biggest and most successful restaurant chain of all time and yes its American. However if you look at a country with a McDonalds I’m sure they also have several Chinese or Indian restaurants in the country. In the country where I’m from England I don’t have exact facts but I am almost certain that Indian food is just as popular as McDonalds. You could also argue that although McDonalds is an American company the foods it does aren’t strictly American. Take French fries for example Americans were not the first people to invent French fries but it’s not just McDonalds, other American food chains as well. Pizza hut for example is a worldwide American food chain selling mainly Pizzas which are an Italian invention.

To wrap this up I strongly believe that globalization is not Americanization and that there is no single culture that is predominant in the world. The British, the Italians, the Chinese, the Indians and many more countries have all had their effect on the world. You just look at McDonalds and Pizza hut two successful American food chains however the products they sell are not American and got to them through globalization. There is no world culture but many, giving each of us a unique identity which means that globalization can continue happening.