Globalization: Indigenous Peoples and World
Globalization is the process in which the world becomes connected through communication, trade, and migration. Globalization can transform cultures and the identity of people within those cultures. One of the primary factors that leads to globalization in the advancement of technology In 1980 Dr. Knauft began to study an indigenous group of people deep in the forests of Papua New Guinea. This group of people had no contact with the outside world until the 1960’s, they were cut off from everything. They had a language and a name that was unknown to Anthropologists at the time.
They were virtually invisible to the outside world. When Dr. Knauft arrived he met the Gebusi people, and began his study. He watched as they preformed ritual dances and wore traditional costumes. The Gebusi people lived their lives according to tradition and beliefs and were not affected by the outside world. The truth is no one can hide from globalization, not even the secluded Gebusi people. With in a matter of only 18 years they were transformed, most of them willingly converted to Christian beliefs, and they became focused on politics, economics, religion and nationalism.
They were caught up to speed with the rest of the world due to globalization. The culture of the Gebusi people and their identity was drastically changed due to globalization. They were now on the same page as the rest of the world, and were now connected with the outside world. Trade organized groups such as NAFTA and the WTO make globalization easier to obtain for the smaller “developing” countries. For the countries that are a part of these groups goods, and ideas are much easier to share. With groups such as these and other factors globalization is inevitable so there is no sense in fighting it.
If it were embraced rather then rejected everyone would be much better off. I understand that it can interfere with older cultures and traditions of developing countries, but it’s eat or be eaten in today’s world and you need to do what you need to do in order to compete with other countries and to survive within your own. Globalization exposes who ever it effects to a variety of new and different opportunities that must be taken in order for that group to survive. It can be compared to having to evolve, or becoming extinct.
A lot of people see globalization as a bad thing, but its essential for survival in today’s world, and with out it we would be totally secluded from the rest of the world and that would just make everything extremely hard. It also helps keep the world balanced with power. Without globalization one country, or one group of people could easily be way ahead of others, and that could lead to wars and many other conflicts. The positives of globalization strongly out weigh the negatives and I’m not sure why anybody would be against it.
