A Coca Cola can lying near the Pyramids

In Cosmopolitanism, Appiah refers to cultural imperialism as condescending. The term itself means the spread of one or more prominent cultures to others that are seen as demeaning or lesser known to modern, ‘civilized’ societies. He dismissed it as condescending due to the fact that even our modern cultures are constantly changing because of other culture’s influences. There’s a line between preserving one’s culture and not giving it the opportunity to take advantage of societies advances. We may refer to the westernization of the cultures in the ‘outside world’ as destructive to their traditional beliefs and practices. The cosmopolitan perspective is that the traditions of these cultures can sustain themselves even with the innovations of the modern world. Each culture can retain coherence and cultural values in the spread of multiculturalism.

The “golden rule” is “Homo sum: humani nil a me alienum puto” which translates from Latin into “I am human: nothing human is alien to me.” This relates back to the imaginary stranger, in the sense that everyone is human regardless of what they would call their culture. We are all humans and capable of what any other human would be capable of, this can be debated through evolutionary traits people pick up on based on where they live, but mostly we are capable of thinking in a way and experiencing what any other human could.

The oxymoron in cultural purity is the fact that any given culture contains many influences from other cultures. Despite culture being something thought of as traditional, a single culture had to have adapted a trait or practice from another in their past. Things such as a ritual dance, a type of food made, a story with moral values eluded to, etc. This also goes back to cultural imperialism because regardless of whether the people of one culture wants the spread of another, it’s going to happen eventually. Innovations in the world made to help the human race survive in the simplest way possible are in existence and everyone should be opportune to those advances. Some cultures are resistant to the change in the beginning because they believe it will change the culture as a whole.

A historical fiction novel based in Nigeria during the British Colonialism

In Things Fall Apart, a story about a culture on the verge of change, there is tension about whether change should be privileged over tradition. The main character, Okonkwo, resists the new political and religious orders because he feels that he may be losing his position in his society. His sense of self-worth depends on the traditional standards that society judges him for. Many of the villagers are excited about the new opportunities and techniques that the missionaries bring. In the same light, the missionaries are also a threat of their traditional methods of farming, building, and cooking. Those traditional methods that were necessary for them to survive at one point are now pointless.

It’s understandable how it’s hard for some cultures to dismiss cultural imperialism as simply condescending when it was forced upon many. However, Appiah also references the French calling it ‘cultural imperialism’ when they watch American films or use English sites. It’s odd because they won’t quit watching them regardless of the label they give them. Depending on the way the term is used determines my perspective on the concept. I do think that tradition is a good thing but when it results in the murdering of twins I’m not sure if it’s really a problem that it’s being changed.