Globalisierung: Wie weit sind wir bereit zu gehen?*

Ein Experiment: Beim Thema Globalisierung wird es schwierig. So richtig unangenehm. Haben wir uns überhaupt bereits die wichtigsten Fragen gestellt?
*Translation on request... :-)

y+ [] | POSTED: 12.06.04 @23:38

Natürlich, die Welt wächst zusammen. Oder zumindest wollen wir das. Wirklich? Und mit allen Konsequenzen? Wie weit sind wir bereit, unsere eigenen Bedürfnisse zurückzustellen, um dieses Zusammenwachsen zu fördern? Oder vielleicht geht es in Wirklichkeit nur darum, dem Rest der Welt unser westliches System überzustreifen. Denn auf welche Aspekte wollen wir denn verzichten? Wieviel Kompromiss ist gesund? Vielleicht wollen wir tatsächlich nur immer mehr und gestehen es den anderen nicht zu. Wie soll das überhaupt funktionieren mit der globalen Kommunikation? Sicher, das Internet macht es um einiges leichter, zumindest überschreitet es geografische Grenzen. Aber wie sieht es zum Beispiel mit den Sprachbarrieren aus? Oder nehmen wir AO als Beispiel: Wäre es vermessen zu sagen, dass die Diskussionen die hier stattfinden um einiges einseitiger ausfallen würden, wenn es keine internationale Beteiligung gäbe? Vom Austausch von Informationen/Ansichten profitieren schliesslich alle. Oder nicht? Und wenn man sich die Mitgliederprofile anschaut, haben viele der amerikanischen AO-Mitglieder bereits im Ausland gelebt. Und doch fühlen sie sich jetzt sicher ein wenig ausgeschlossen... :-) A long way to go yet. Es reicht wohl nicht aus, wenn unsere Unternehmen globaler agieren und die viel-beschworene "westliche Zivilisation" in alle noch so entlegenen Winkel der Erde tragen. Das wäre der reine Selbstzweck, aber vielleicht vergesse ich da den kapitalistischen Grundgedanken. Und ganz ehrlich, wer war nicht schon mal froh, im unwahrscheinlichsten Augenblick (und in der unwahrscheinlichsten Gegend) eine McDonald's-Filiale vorzufinden! Ich bin schliesslich nicht Naomi Klein... Es geht vielmehr um etwas anderes, ein kulturelles Grundproblem vielleicht, und das schliesst natürlich viele Aspekte mit ein. Also: How much are we able to compromise? To what extent are we willing to accept and even appreciate differences in faith, culture, language, politics and perhaps even ideology to build this global village? Don't these aspects make the world an even more interesting place to live in?

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Well, quite obviously, this wasn't supposed to be about McDonald's... but hey, I love a good cheeseburger :-)

You are assuming that development is a zero sum game. Therefore, if we want other regions of thw world to develp, we need to curtail our own needs. But is this true? From one false premise to another: a global civilization will be a shallower one, McDonald's instead of Maxime and La Tour d'Argent. This is but a repetition of the criticism of the 'mass society' reflected in half forgotten books such as Ortega y Gasset: The rebelion of the masses. Nothing wrong with McDonald's, there is a very good reason why millions of customers visit them every day: it serves a cheap and filling if not fullfilling meal.

Courage, eh? Well, it was just an idea, and gladly, I seem to have gotten my point across. Far from good journalistic writing, though. My lecturer in journalism would have let me fail miserably... too little substance coupled with too much opinion :-)

I am gonna deal with the language aspect of intercultural communication on a more academic level soon, and I'll let you know my findings if you are interested... it'll be a more philosophical approach to translation and communication issues that arise from it. Exciting!!!

The power of Journalism and creativity.. this certainly did get my attention :)
Yana, very courageous of you.

Does globalisation require understanding other cultures, and if so, does understanding cultures require the skill of learning and using foreign languages ?

If the US as a nation has a sincere interest versus mere self-interest in Globalisation, wouldn't this also mandate the requirement of learning a foreign language for its citizens. Clear text : Ning How Mah ? (Chinese)

"The danger of the current rift in the “west” is that attitudes on both sides of the Atlantic feed off mutual resentments. Many Bush supporters are as contemptuous of “the Europeans”, whom they regard as a bunch of effete, godless, homo snobs, as the newly assertive Europeans are of Bush’s people, whom they dismiss as ignorant, philistine cowboys." http://news.ft.com/cms/s/ae79bd26-4a47-11d9-b065-00000e2511c8.html

That'd be nice, Ed... but I suppose it ain't gonna happen the way "we" have envisioned it. I guess there are practical barriers that can't be overcome. Don't call me a pessimist though :-)

Alle Leute werden hoffentlich zusammen zu sein.

The more one travels out on this hopefully expanding arc we sometimes call life, the more one understand that some things don't need translation. These "some things" usually represent the best parts of us as human beings and whenever any of us touch such a point in life, these are the moments when there is no need to flick through a dictionary to find the meaning of intelligence.

I love this, even if the only two words of German I know is "guten tag". This doesn't need translation because anyone who understands that we all live on the same planet will get something from this on the first look. Imagination flow and connection feeds are our new wine and daily bread of the global village.

M.

Happy Holidays All.

I have realized that... :-)

My lessons are hard too.........;-)

Now you are telling me? Well, thanks for causing extra work...

Enough to read and understand it in the orginal german.............but you'd have to convince Dr. Stiglitz first..............;-)

Ok, now that a translation has been requested, here goes:

Globalization: How far are we prepared to go?

An experiment: When it comes to globalization things get rather complicated, or unpleasant if you want. Have we asked ourselves the right questions yet?

Of course, the world is growing closer. Or at least that's what we aim for. But do we really? With all consequences? Are we prepared to even do neglect some of our own needs and desires in order to promote this process of coalescence?

Or perhaps, this is rather about cast our "western civilization" over the rest of the world. For which aspects do we want to do without in a global future? What is a healthy dose of compromise? Perhaps, we should face it: perhaps we are merely putting ourselves first before others, aiming for a bigger slice of the piel

And how can global communication work anyway? Sure, the Internet makes it easier to communicate, at least it crosses geographical borders. But what about language barriers?

Or take AO as an example: Would it be presumptuous to say that the debates would reflect a somehwhat more one-sided spectrum without international participation? Surely, everyone can benefit from the exchange of information/views... And take a look at the profiles of US members. Many have already worked and lived abroad, but some might still feel excluded at this very moment...

A long way to go yet.

It is probably not enough for companies to operate on a global scale, promoting our so-called western civilization into the most remote areas of the world. That'd be for the mere sake of making an even larger profit... which admittedly, is the basic idea of capitalism. And honestly, haven't we all experienced a moment of extreme relief being able to go to a McDonald's at the most unlikely time and place... And hey, I am not doing a Naomi Klein here anyway...

This is more about something else: a rather cultural issue, which obviously includes many different aspects. Ergo the question is

How much are we able to compromise? To what extent are we willing to accept and even appreciate differences in faith, culture, language, politics and perhaps even ideology to build this global village? Don't these aspects make the world an even more interesting place to live in?

Please note, now that's an ad-hoc translation, not a stand-alone article :-)