As technology
develops and society evolves, we are hearing more and more about the presence
of globalization (the interdependence of nations through trade, services,
products, cultures, etc.) in our world.
In the last century, overarching structures like the United Nations and
the European Union have been established in order to promote this kind of
international integration, and while many see this as a necessary step to world
order, others have many criticisms. One of the biggest arguments against globalization
is that it minimizes nationalism. Many fear that the more we try to integrate
countries together, the more culture and country pride we lose in the process.
However, in the final part of Foer’s book “How Soccer Explains the World”, he
looks to soccer as a representation of the world to refute these criticisms,
and show how even in a situation where you have all these countries coming
together for a common purpose, there is still room for nationalism.
This idea of
whether or not globalization promotes or demotes country pride is an
interesting argument to look at. To start, look at humans for example. It’s
often a common misconception that in a relationship, the more time a couple
spends together, the more of their individuality each of them loses. The
argument is similar with countries in globalization. People feel that the more
dependent countries become on one another, the more they will lose of their
culture. And while it’s true this can sometimes be the case, it is also
commonly said that in healthy relationships, couples bring out the best in each
other. And I think this proves to be true in globalization as well. Foer uses
the example of the world cup to show how when the entire world comes together
for one purpose---to play soccer, the end result can be an outpouring of
national pride and passion.
While most people
see the main point of the World Cup to play soccer, it really has proven to be much more than that. It is also a time where each country is given a chance
to show off all they are proud of. During the World Cup this past summer, fans
all over the world were given the chance to see the country of Brazil in a whole new
light through the passion of its people, the richness of its culture and its never ending spirit. Similarly, when cameras turned to Germany after
they won the cup, we got to see the energy of a completely different country
with an equal amount of pride in their culture. What the World Cup did was
bring the entire world together to put on display the best of their country.
And isn’t that what globalization is? Each country putting what they’re best at
on the table in order to maximize global efficiency?
I believe Foer’s
portrayal of soccer in respect to globalization works to show how, if anything,
globalization only increases nationalism. Obviously, no country is perfect and
you will find bad things in every country on this planet. However what
globalization does is take the best aspects of each and put them on display for
the entire world, giving every country’s citizens something to focus on and be
proud of. Just as there are a lot of bad aspects of each country, I’m sure
there are plenty of bad soccer players in each country as well. But what both
professional soccer and globalization have in common is their ability to bring
together the best of each country to portray a nation every one of its citizens can be proud of.
So if globalization increases nationalism, what do we expect to see in the future? What sort of effects will that have? More conflict? More closing to trade?
ReplyDeleteI can see the effects of rising nationalism leading to increased conflict. While I do see nationalism as a positive trend, I can also see it leading to issues when it comes to accepting or rejecting aspects of society which are being globalized. What I mean by this is if there is a country with very strong pride for their nation, they'll probably be less likely to want or accept change being offered by other countries. For example in the later part of the twentieth century, there were many issues in Northern Ireland as irish nationalists fought for Northern Ireland to separate from the UK and join a United Ireland. They didn't want to be classified with the cultures and ideas of another nation so they revolted. While this is an extreme example, it shows how countries with increased nationalism can be very against involvement of other countries in national affairs.
DeleteThis is interesting because it's completely different from my post. I argued that globalization essentially removes a lot of the individuality from a nation's culture. I agree that nationalism certainly exists and won't go away any time soon, but I'm not sure if globalization is necessarily the cause of that.
ReplyDeleteThough you make a good point about how healthy relationships bring out the best in everyone, I fear that globalization is not closely monitored enough to always be a "good relationship". Of course, it is wonderful during the World Cup when everyone of all nations rejoice for their team and show the world all their nationalism. However, the world cup only happens once every 4 years. The rest of the time when the cup isn't going on, I think nationalism is still increasingly being lost. When the cup is over, most Americans go back to watching football and baseball and forget about soccer or their "American" teams. Unfortunately, in reality, I just do not think soccer nor globalization have the power to positively promote all nations.
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