Mono Multiculturalism

Mono Multiculturalism The rise of globalization has caused tremendous changes in international economy. Technology and relaxed trade regulations have facilitated significant changes in trade practices and have changed the way countries deal with one another. Globalization has wrought significant changes in the socio-cultural areas as well. Hollywood movies, for example, are shown in countries all over the world. So-called "world music" has become popular in the United States.

Many malls sell what would previously have been classified as "exotic goods" -- Peruvian rain sticks, mango chutney, Tibetan prayer beads - as a matter of course. Proponents of globalization herald this cultural phenomenon as "multiculturalism," one that allows Americans to appreciate the diversity of cultures around the world. There is, however, a dark underbelly to this equation. The dominant American and Western economies have also ushered in the dominance of its society's values and lifestyle.

The unfortunate result is not multiculturalism, but what Indian physicist and activist Vandana Shiva called a "monoculture of the mind" (cited in Barlow). Western culture is enveloping the world in a global cultural homogenization. Writer Naomi Klein refines Shiva's formulation further by recognizing the role logos and advertising plays in this diluting cultural differences. The west is able to promote cultural homogeneity through the global branding of commodities, a process that Klein calls "mono-multiculturalism" (Klein 117).

In other words, Klein agrees that the West and the United States in particular, are spreading their cultural dominance through brand names. Whereas the nineteenth century colonizers used military force, the United States uses recognizable logos - Gap clothes, Nike sneakers, Britney Spears CDs. As an example, Klein points to the way American firms are marketing to Asian youth.

For many American companies, the "teen market' is not a geographic category, but a "global consumer loop." All over the world, across different races, cultures and education levels, middle class kids around the world patronize Levi's, Nike's, Coca-cola and Burger King. In what one advertiser trumped as "one of the greatest marketing opportunities of all time," many ad campaigns sell the same products in exactly the same way to this worldwide teen demographic (Klein 56).

In addition to creating a worldwide culture of consumers, "mono-multiculturalism" further creates homogeneity by erasing local traditions and knowledge, traditional skills, artisans and values. In communities around the world, artisan groups that sell local products have been wiped out by global copycats that produce cheaper knock-off versions. As each artisan craft dies out, so do centuries of traditional songs, skills and knowledge (Barlow). For Nawal Hassan, an Egyptian artisan, the loss of artisan culture reflects issues of identity as well. Hassan observes, "all our (Egyptian) civilization has.