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                                   Globalization and Culture

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                                   Globalization and Culture

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Some see globalization as a threat to our standards of living while others see it as a way of lowering transportation cost, improved communication, technological changes and financial integration among countries. These are ways in which it can work for the good of all to promote development for individual countries.  How many of us can attest to things we own such as our clothing or bag of which were not manufactured in the same country? Perhaps, your shirt was made in China while your shoes were made in the United States or even Germany. This is all possible through ‘Globalization.” So, what exactly is globalization? As we know, the term “globalization” is nothing new to us, but for the purpose of being clear, it is basically the process of becoming ‘global’ which is not limited to the Caribbean region, but the world at large. It can even be put as the variety of impacts that arises from the increasing tendency of national borders to be crossed by people, services, goods and information (Goklany). So, what does it means for us to be GLOBAL? This is the transformation through means such as marketing strategies, individual lifestyles and even our culture (Goklany). It is very evident that the Caribbean culture has been extended by diasporas outside of the Caribbean which dates to our history. This includes but is not limited to carnival, we see today that Caribana is held in Canada which was birthed here in the Caribbean. This festival can be accounted for due to the enslavement of the Africans where they would use music and dance as a way of mocking their masters. Music, dance and parading are the basic elements of carnival. In this sense, our culture is being globalized. Even our ancestors have travelled from various continents, our Amerindians, Chinese and East Indians came from Asia; the Africans came from Africa and the Europeans and Portuguese came from Europe. Were they aware that they were apart of globalization? The truth is that it is safe for us to say that globalization started when Christopher Columbus decided to sail and arrived here in the Caribbean.

Christopher Columbus encountered the Amerindians upon Arrival

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                              Utilization of Globalization

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                              Utilization of Globalization

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Globalization gives us the ability to purchase goods and services from outside of our region. Yes! One may argue that this would not do well to our economy since it is through importation that these goods are acquired, and the money goes out instead of staying in the parameters of the region in order to aid in the further development of our Caribbean. Conversely, globalization gives our local businesses the same opportunity to produce and export products which will help to create revenues. Of course, the exchange of these goods can be done through modern communication and technological interfaces such as cell phones, televisions and the world wide web all of which can be used as a means of marketing (Schauble). The truth is that Caribbean countries currently import goods from outside of the region. Perhaps these goods and services are being sold at a cheaper cost, so it is found to be more profitable. But, aren’t we supposed to be an integrated Caribbean working together for our development?

Transport of Goods

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        Efforts of Development through Caribbean Integration

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        Efforts of Development through Caribbean Integration

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So, what is Caribbean Integration? This is a decision that is made by two or more states to work together to achieve sustainable wealth. The countries here in the region are a part of the Caribbean either historically, culturally, geographically or politically. In the Caribbean region, we have shared experiences during our colonial eras such as encomienda, slavery and indentureship. Before the gaining of independence, colonies that were ruled by the United Kingdom had the interest of Caribbean Integration at heart. This resulted in the formation of the West Indies Federation in 1958, which was short lived and last only until 1962. This was the first body that was aimed at the development of the Caribbean through integration. At that time, the total population of the region was approximately four million with the majority ethnicity being West Africans along with traces of East Indians, Europeans and Caribs. Even when most of the countries became independent, prime ministers and presidents still saw it the need for an organization that will help each other achieve their goals by working together (Understanding Regional Integration). Thus, several other organizations have been formed to aid in this process; some of which has failed while others succeeded and still exist but cease to be effective as they ought to be. One such failed organization was the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA), which was founded in 1965, but was also short-lived until 1972. The aim of this Federation was to strengthen and encourage economic activity among member states by removing tariffs and quotas on goods produced within the trade bloc (Will). Many islands were heavily dependent on the revenue that was generated from tariffs. The failure of the Federation led to the formation of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in 1973, which was really CARIFTA rebirthed. It consisted of twenty members inclusive of five associate members and still exist today. Its aim was that of CARIFTA which included increasing trade among members, diversity whereby several other goods and services would be created, removing of quotas and tariffs, ensuring fair competition among many others (Will).

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                                     CARICOM Challenges

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                                     CARICOM Challenges

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Why exactly CARICOM has not been able to effectively achieve its goals to better aid our development? The answer varies, however, there are numerous challenges with the major one being lack of finance mainly due to a lack of diversification. Since most of the countries depend on tourism and agriculture for their sustainability, they do not support each other’s businesses as expected. I mean, it would not be profitable for Jamaica to purchase sugar from Guyana- they both produce. So here lies the problem of diversification because adequate goods are not produced in the region for the export in order to create revenue that will further facilitate development. To date, CARICOM members do not have a comprehensive national export control law or regulations (Current challenges). Regional customs and border security still pose threats. With these improvements’ as well as the alleviating of the relatively high level of money laundering and trafficking of both humans and narcotics will help with our economic and other developments through integration. However, these have been the issues from the birth of the organization, so when will the objectives be achieved? With the fast-pacing world, we really do not have time to spend perhaps another forty years to work on this. Instead, we can try working on them at an international level at the same time meeting our intended development.

CARICOM Flag

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                      Reality of Globalization in the Region

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                      Reality of Globalization in the Region

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Consciously or unconsciously, the region is already apart of globalization. For example, we have franchises such as Pizza Hut and Popeyes which can be found in Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas and so forth. In fact, I cannot identify a franchise that is specifically unique to us here in the Caribbean. If we are going to say that Caribbean Integration is the way forward for Caribbean Development, this is one such initiative that could be undertaken to bring different cuisines to the various islands in efforts of creating employment opportunities like the International Franchises are doing through globalization. We can say that The University of the West Indies is promoting Caribbean development by means of Caribbean Integration by having campuses in various islands. This is one way by which education is facilitated through CARICOM which allows us to move freely across the region to physically attend a territory institution. On the other hand, we can say that The University of the West Indies is a part of globalization since exchange programs are done in various countries that are not within the region such as Canada, Germany and more. This helps the university not to only be recognized regionally, but internationally as well.

We have players of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and the West Indies cricket teams who are also taking their talents to a global level. This allows them to showcase themselves and in turn, they are either sponsored internationally or ‘bought’ for example, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has several Caribbean batsmen who are highly paid to participate in these tournaments (Rumford and Stephen). They then return to the region in most instances where their monies are spent or donated. A huge financial revenue is generated from television advertisements and media through cricket which we here can also benefit from (Rumford and Stephen).

There are other skilled individuals who decide to migrate to other parts of the world due to not being able to pursue their passions here in the region. This stagnates our development since experienced individuals decide to seek a ‘better life’ abroad instead of staying to train others The CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) was established to further solidify Caribbean integration. The major aim is to create employment for citizens of any member state. However, persons still find it challenging to obtain CSME certificates even when qualified to work in other countries. This often arises due to the fear of fewer job opportunities for citizens of the specific country. We even have countries such as Bahamas, Haiti and Montserrat who are a part of CARICOM but are not members of CSME. Here it is evident that members are being excluded when we are supposed to be geared towards “Caribbean integration” to develop as one.

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                                          'The Global Village'

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                                          'The Global Village'

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Globalization still needs a recognized framework, but it is guaranteed to benefit our region. Us striving to be a part of the global village first has to do with some degree of politics where officials must decide upon being a part of the movement, also in terms of a global spread of policies that encourages countries’ market orientation, both internally and externally. One important decision that should be made is that of doing frequent health checks of persons entering various countries since there will be an influx of people coming in and out. Not only does an exchange of individuals occur but services, knowledge, culture, goods and even language. This facilitates us learning from each other.

What we should truly realize is that globalization is neither good nor bad but is mostly dependent on how people deal with the future possibilities that are likely to arise. Once we here in the Caribbean are committed to working towards the global village, it will work for our good and continued development as oppose to focusing more on an integrated Caribbean for it allows us a wider platform to work with.

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