Final Thoughts on Globalization

If anybody has called customer service for any companies that have taken advantage of the inexpensive overseas labor you have experienced the growing trend of globalization.  It seems like there is a two sided view when it comes to globalization.  It follows the “love it or leave it” trend that has developed in our society pertaining to globalization.  It is as if there is no middle ground on the issue, and middle ground is exactly what society needs on the matter.  People either think that globalization is destroying cultures and forcing the “American Dream” on people who don’t really want it.  Others say that globalization is bringing prosperity to regions that have suffered from immense poverty for many years.  There is a definite binary view of the issue, one that needs to be subverted if we as a society are going to be able to grow in a healthy way.  In the books An Artist of the Floating World, by Kazuo Ishiguro and Jasmine, by Bharati Mukherjee we can find examples of people who have been able to move beyond the love it or hate it attitude when it comes to globalization.

In the novel An Artist of the Floating World there are examples of all different sides of globalization.  The main character, Masuji Ono, is an example of the more traditionalist view.  He embraces the Japanese culture and doesn’t like the American influence that is invading post WWII Japan.  He sees it as a loss of the culture that he holds so highly in regard.  The opposite side of the spectrum can be seen in the character Suichi.  He is a young man who lived through the war.  He is ashamed of many of the old culture of Japan, and has embraced the more capitalistic Japan that has developed.  He encourages his son to be more American, and shuns the old Japanese society.  However, in the novel, the balance between the two can be found in the wife of Suichi and the daughter of Ono, Setsuko.  She is able to keep in touch with the developing Japan that her husband is part of while still embracing the old ways that her father is so used to.  She also is imprinting this balance on her son Ichiro.  I think that this middle ground is the best, because one must be in touch with the future, but also must not forget the past.

This balance that is shown by Setsuko is the middle ground that I believe we as a society must strive for.  If we shun the past, we are shutting out our heritage, and as our heritage makes us what we are, we are cutting out a valuable part of ourselves.  However, if we don’t look at what the future is bringing, we are being arrogant and blind to what may come.

Another Novel that shows a healthy view towards globalization is Jasmine.  In the novel, the character Jasmine comes all the way from a small village in India to living in New York, and then settling down in a small town in Iowa.  She is a truly global character.  And although it may seem like she loses touch with her own heritage, she is rather shaped by that heritage, and uses the strong points from it to her advantage, and disregards the old views that do not suit her.  She adapts her old way of living to her new life, and thrives.  She doesn’t forget where she came from, while not letting that blind her to the future that she is part of.  For example, in India, women are thought to be loyal to the men that they marry, and must keep that loyalty.  Jasmine doesn’t forget this when she comes to America, but she also is able to step beyond the sort of blind loyalty and think for herself.  She is a good example of the balance that must be obtained in globalization.

As has been shown by the characters in the before mentioned novels, there is a healthy view that can be taken towards globalization.  As a society we must get away from the love it or leave it binary, and realize that there are benefits to both.  We must not lose touch with the past, as there are many valuable lessons that can be learned there.  In turn, we cannot become bound by the past, as the future is a global one, and we must accept that and grow with it.  The path between the past and the future is the one that must be walked to be a successful society.