The Case for Contamination, by Kwame Anthony Appiah

Individuals of the same ethnic background share the same culture a factor that explains that there, as many cultures as there are ethnic backgrounds across the world. Globalization has, however, led to interaction of people from varied cultural backgrounds. Because of the interaction, globalization has been accused of limiting cultural diversity. It is, however, not the case in reality. The purpose of this paper is to analyze some of the factors that justify that globalization has not limited cultural diversity as its critics say. Thus, globalization should not be viewed as a hindrance to cultural diversity because the best subject of moral concern should be the individual person and not the nation, community or the society.

In “The Case for Contamination” the author Kwame Appiah analyzes and points out the many ways in which the world is becoming globalized. He uses many extensive examples to show that the world is getting ‘contaminated’. By ‘contamination’ he means that the mixture of all the innovative values and traditions are damaging and eventually destroying what our ancestors have left us. In his analysis, he describes the gradual transformation of many cultures and different religions to support his points but in his personal opinion he is very open-minded and is not greatly influenced by his religion. His tone is informative and gives the reader the freedom to decide between

Another argument Appiah makes is for the liberties and freedoms that are entitled to us as individuals, an idea supported by cosmopolitans. In “A Case for Contamination”, he mentions the Unesco document for which its members’ priority was to protect and promote cultural diversity while shielding it from globalization. However, as Appiah points out the document is a paradox for it carefully upholds the significance of new ideas, human rights and values, and the freedom of thought and expression. Individuals should be able to make their own decisions based on their moral convictions and desires, isn’t that what freedom is? Shouldn’t societies operate with a moral compass, too? It should be in their best interest to take into account their members

In Kwame Anthony Appiah’s essay, The Case for Contamination, he discusses the complications and benefits of globalization, and the impacts it has on smaller cultures. Appiah begins his argument with an apparent negative connotation with the term globalization - how it threatens the ability for a culture to maintain traditions with influences from the western world. As his essay continues on, he proves the contrary, and that members of society have the capability to keep traditions whilst interacting with western ideals. Appiah continues, and delves into the story of a Ghanaian Wednesday Festival, a tradition that has been in their culture for hundreds of years. As he begins to look around the event, he notices that the long-established

The author of the article named Kwame Appiah who is also from Ghana, precisely analyzed and demonstrates examples of the ways in which the world is indeed becoming globalized. Depending on how one may look at globalization, it may appear as a good thing, or it may appear to come off as a bad thing. It will all be based on that person’s paradigm or personal experiences/beliefs. From the author Kwame Appiah’s standpoint he demonstrated globalization as a positive thing yielding good results.

In “The Case for Contamination” the author Kwame Appiah explains out in different ways how the world is becoming globalized and different at the same time. He uses many examples to show that the world is getting “contaminated”. He uses the term “contamination” to explain how the mixture of all the innovative values and new traditions are damaging what past generations left us as heritage. He also meant that if we continue like this we will destroy them as well. He also describes the gradual transformation of many cultures and different religions to support his points.

The world is not a large and strange place anymore. The world is a place that is interconnected and intertwined. The world has become from a place that each country and their peoples are separate and isolated to a place that each country and their peoples are part of a global network. Thanks to globalization this is occurring. Globalization is the ‘international integration” or ‘de-bordering’ – “a number of highly disparate observations whose regular common denominator is the determination of a profound transformation of the traditional nation-state” (Von Bogdandy 2). Globalization is connecting different people from different cultures and backgrounds together. More and more corporations are entering new foreign markets to sell their

Contemporary globalization is an exceptionally multifaceted phenomenon and can be defined as "an intensification of cross-national cultural, economic, political, social and technological interactions that lead to the establishment of transnational structures and the global integration of cultural, economic, environmental, political and social processes on global, supranational, national, regional and local levels" (Huynen, Martens & Hilderink, 2005). The very nature of the American society has experienced insightful and compound changes due to globalization that has brought with it both new opportunities and risks. Similarly, the impacts of globalization

Through the lenses of preservationists, culture is authentic, carries traditions that keep historical ancestry alive, and is threatened by “cultural imperialism”. From a cosmopolitan perspective, culture is the freedom of choice, made up of multiple values and ideas that allow individuals to reinvigorate its uniqueness in an ever changing society. In “The Case for Contamination”, published by the New York Times Magazine, Kwame Anthony Appiah addresses the concern regarding the diminishment of cultural identity in poor countries by introducing the idea of cosmopolitanism: being free from cultural preordains and engaging in a pluralist society. Appiah endorses globalization and explains that resisting cultural interconnection will perhaps trap people in a stagnating society and avert it from achieving a pluralistic environment. He claims that cosmopolitanism enables individuals to adopt foreign culture based on how they see fit within their cultural context, and without “structuring the consciousness” and detaching people from traditional beliefs.

Some argue that globalization will, on the long term, bring all cultures as a unique Western, if not Americanized, culture, while others argue that some cultures will persist in order to keep their own essence and therefore avoid the homogenization of all cultures. Alongside pure tradition, global conflicts, contradictory political regimes and the diversity of economic systems, some cultures are bound to face issues when trying to fully fit in a global western culture, and that is why cultures are adaptable to one another, but with some limits that we will express in this essay.

During the last decade of the twentieth century, the word ‘globalization’ has become an increasingly prominent feature of political, social, and economic discussion in academic and policymaking circles, as well as in the media. The processes and outcomes of globalization drew attention and debates that had one thing in common. The research shows that nearly everyone agrees that globalization is a trend that is changing the face of the world, and as a result the world society lives in a more ‘globalized’ world. Nearly two and a half decades passed since 1990s, and studies have been conducted to examine the causes and consequences of globalization. Moreover, nearly every person experiences some type of globalization and can testify firsthand the effects it has on their life, society, and the state. The analysis of the effects that globalization dynamics have on the world society indicates that globalization has a significant positive impact via spreading opportunities and wealth across nations, stimulating innovation and productivity, enhancing the economic development of poorer countries, and helping to improve living standards.

When it comes to globalization, everyone may have a different vision of it’s outcome. For Marcelo Gleiser, the author of “Globalization: Two visions of the Future of Humanity”, a completely globalized world may result in a dystopia. In contrast, Jeffrey Wasserstrom, the author of “A Mickey Mouse Approach to Globalization” and Tanveer Ali, the creator of “The Subway Falafel Sandwich and the Americanization of Ethnic Food” may think of globalization as other cultures sharing each other’s components to interact on a new level and spurring a more “open-minded” (Ali 27) individual.

Cultural individuality and distinctiveness is the pride of every nation. All communities rejoice in the richness and exoticness of their own cultural symbols, be it dressing, architecture, language or way-of-life. With the dawn of globalization, however, cultural variety and distinguishing characteristics are vanishing; giving rise to a monoculture common to all. While this may be a harbinger of unity and relatedness among all people of the world, it also damages the unique cultural identities they once took pride in. This paper discusses the effects of globalization on culture, along with its positive and negative effects. Since the effects of globalization on culture are non-exhaustive, it is attempted to incorporate a few of the most

We cannot succeed when half of us are held back”. Malala Yousafzai. This is the way that feels a young girl in a globalized world today. There is not clear when Globalization starts, but some people believe that it begins with the end of the Cold War and the separation of the Soviet Union, others along with the arrival of man on the moon or with the development of telecommunications. As a matter of fact, Globalization is not always a synonymous of progress; however, the process of people’s interaction and their desire of succeed along with the development of technology and communications have created a globalized World. Although, the term globalization is recently used in “the New Economy” to study variations in world politics and economies, it has a broad interpretation. The most common meaning define Globalization as the tendency to reach a world dimension or surpass national borders. In either case, the globalization has evolved thought the last 50 years and it has positives and negatives effects reflected on economy, environment and human rights.

Globalization simply defined is the intensification of global interactions. The case studies we have studied depict two of the main types of globalization. Economic Globalization, which is the production, exchange, distribution, and consumption of goods and tangible services, and Cultural Globalization, the exchange of materials and symbols that represent facts, meaning values and beliefs. When Globalization occurs it usually has a major impact on indigenous cultures. Optimists or “champions” state that the relationship between culture and globalization has positive effects as it creates a balance between nations. Conversely, critics state that relationships between the two have negative effects, leading to the loss or deterioration of a