It is therefore threatening the cultural identities of many countries because this one culture is being largely promoted due to the dominance of the western media and media imperialism. However Curran argues the concentration of media ownership has been about for ages. In the 1930s half the UK media was owned by just 4 corporations. It is therefore not a new thing and so it’s not necessarily the concentration of the media that is threatening cultural identities as they would have been threatened a long time ago if this was the case. Marxists argue against Curran’s view and state that it must be the media imperialism that is threatening cultural identities; with new media and globalisation, media companies have immense power and so can and are threatening on a larger scale.
The 19th and 20th centuries were characterized by the more developed countries of Europe acquiring the land and controlling resources of undeveloped countries. This idea, called imperialism, can be defined as the policy of extending a nation’s authority by territorial acquisition or by establishing economic and political authority over other nations. The European powers saw imperialism as their right and duty to exert their superiority, while the indigenous people of the inferior areas resented the Europeans greed and unrightfully taking control. Western European countries and developed a variety of attitudes toward imperialism. Economic factors were a chief motivation for colonization to European countries.
Pros of Western Imperialism are Most of the profits went back to industrialized nations. It allowed them to spread Christianity, and allowed new products like coffee from South America. The artistic view as well comes into play as many of the arts influenced western sculptors and painters. Modern banking systems were a stem from imperialism. Stabilized traditional countries by uniting rival people.
Wal-Mart does not care about the American economy because they are thriving the way the economy is now, so American citizens have to stand up for their communities. According to the book, How Walmart is destroying America and what you can do about it, when you are a huge rich company and all you want to do is get huger and richer, it turns out a lot of smaller, poorer people have to get hurt in the process. Wal-Mart with all its size and power, could hurt people or help them in a lot of situations. Which do you think it normally chooses to do (Bill Quinn 102)? The answer for so many years has obviously been hurt people.
Discussion: George Santayana said in his book, Reason in Common Sense, "Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it." This quote was also used by Winston Churchill and various other historical persons. The West was once thought of just as a place where the sun sets, but in reality it means a lot more. Western civilization has been developed by the combining of very different cultures. This mixing of cultures has been done through trade, more wars than can be counted and social interactions.
Overthrow, by Stephen Kinzer steps in to a view of the United stated that not many people would care to bring to light. He implies that since the 19th century as the American frontier diminished the consistent involvement of the United States in the disposition of foreign regimes has spanned the test of time, and showed the great lengths that we are willing to go to push our interests and policies. As history shows, the American business is what drives our policies, and furthering the grown of business is the concrete interest. Delving further in to” Overthrow”, Kinzer further demonstrates numerous examples that further show the American “Interest” in taking over foreign regimes, as well imposing democratic influences or the spread of national security. While these ideals have coincided with numerous overthrows, however they never really had the needed effect until business interests came in to play.
American Imperialism Eva Rodgers HIS 204 American History Since 1865 Instructor Gregory Lawson May 15, 2011 Imperialism is the policy of extending a nation's authority by territorial acquisition or by the establishment of economic and political hegemony over other nations. It is also the system, policies, or practices of such a government. The United States adopted a policy of imperialism in the Nineteenth Century. This paper will discuss that policy and the reasons behind it. I will discuss the major events surrounding the time the policy was adopted and whether it was justified.
14. Imperialism | refers to the domination of European powers, and later the United States and Japan as well, over subject lands in the larger world; sometimes the domination came by force of arms, but often it arose from trade, investment, and business activities that enable imperial powers to profit from subject societies and influence their affairs w/o going to the trouble of exercising direct political control | 15. The White Man’s Burden was the response to American takeover of the Philippines after the Spanish-American War; duty of white men to civilize and modernize new colonies. People living at the time the British took over were nonwhite islanders being evicted from their homes and generally disrespected. 16.
The factory system affected American life in many ways. First, it helped the American economy grow because goods were cheaper, more people could buy them. As people bought more, the factories needed more workers and more workers meant more people who were earning money to buy things. Second, the factory system contributed to the growth of cities. A single factory might hire thousands of workers.
In other words, it was the geopolitical situation that “justified” the western powers to win the “hearts and minds” of the world and to gain potential allies and keeping strategic ones. Through setting up governments and policies to suit their tastes, the western powers (largely the US) will gain client states throughout strategic regions in order to create more buffers against the communist bloc. And for the countries of the south, modernization theory was then the ideological basis of promising a better future4a- but, of course- only to the newly ruling classes that were accumulating westernization for their own benefits, and that of their own