As mass communication and transport continue to grow, societies are becoming more

and more alike leading to a phenomenon known as globalization. Some people fear that
globalization will inevitably lead to the total loss of cultural identity. To what extent do
you agree or disagree with this statement?

Globalization has become a buzzword to talk about our contemporary societies. This term is used
for describing a series of processes which are reshaping economic, political, social and cultural
life around the world. In fact, globalization is related to the economic integration of the global
markets, and also to the accelerated spread of information through the mass media such as the
Internet, which are increasingly eliminating national barriers. In this context, some people see
globalization as increasing the homogeneity of societies, as a synonym of acculturation, which
would lead to the end of national identities. They are afraid of boundaries among societies and
cultures will be erased by vast, varied and growing flow of ideas, trends and idiosyncrasies. By
contrast, I believe that today it’s possible to affirm and defend cultural and social identities,
preserving its unique features and differences, but keeping in mind that there are other cultures or
ways of experiencing reality too, with their own values and traditions which are equally valid.

Culturally speaking, globalization is not promoting a one single culture dominating over the other
cultural entities, but rather encouraging the proliferation of cultural diversity. Despite people
usually assume that globalization means homogenization, our globalized world actually increase the
hybridization, offering to us a great variety of cultural perspectives and promoting cultural
interactions. In this respect, the idea of globalization is closely associated with the concept of a
cosmopolitan society, a plural society, in which people not only are able to accept differences, but
they are also willing to understand it and to learn from it.

In fact, the current one is not the first globalization in Western history. The Roman Empire, for
instance, was a globalized world and many of the processes associated with globalization are
observable during the first centuries of our era. Roman culture spread out its political and religious
influence to the global scale, throughout Mediterranean, across North Africa and into Europe and
Asia. However, this interconnected ancient world, instead of a homogeneous block, was a culturally
rich and diversified world. Romans embraced a diversity of civilizations but weren’t able to crush
their differences. In those days, Romans, Germans, Celts, Greeks, Egyptians, Palestinians, etc.,
entered into a cultural dialogue and all the richness of this period and the times that followed
arising from the meeting of cultures, customs, languages and points of view.

Actually, times of globalization are times of great diversity, discussion and unexpected changes.
Seen in this light, globalization is more an opportunity than a danger. It is a time in which different
cultures can learn from each other, learn to tolerate and respect each other. Precisely, that variety
of lifestyles in culturally plural societies can contribute to make life more interesting and enriching
than life in culturally homogenous societies. Additionally, a globalized world provide
a fertile ground in which a new world can grow.