Passage One

Identity as Treasure

To begin，let me sketch the implicit(for it is usually implicit) reasoning behind the assumption that globalization destroys identities．Once upon a time，before the era of globalization，there existed local，autonomous，distinct and well-defined，robust and culturally sustaining connections between geographical place and cultural experience．These connectionsconstitutedone's—andone'scommunity's—“cultural identity”．This identity was something people simply“had”as an undisturbed existentialpossession，aninheritance，abenefitof traditional long dwelling，of continuity with the past．Identity，then，like language，was not just a description of cultural belonging;it was a sort of collective treasure of local communities．But it was also discovered to be something fragile that needed protecting and preserving，that could be lost．Into this world of manifold，discrete，but to various degrees vulnerable，cultural identities there suddenly burst(apparently around the middle of the 1980s)the corrosive power of globalization．Globalization，so the story goes，has swept like a flood tide through the world's diverse cultures，destroying stable localities，displacing peoples，bringing a market-driven，“branded”homogenization of cultural experience，thus obliterating the differences between locality-defined cultures which had constituted our identities．Though globalization has been judged as involving a general process of loss of cultural diversity，some of course did better，some worse out of this process．Whilst those cultures in the mainstream of the flow of capitalism—those in the West and，specifically，the United States—saw a sort of standardized versionof their cultures exported worldwide，it was the“weaker”cultures of the developing world that have been most threatened．Thus the economic vulnerability of these non-western cultures is assumed to be matched by a cultural vulnerability．Cultural identity is at risk everywhere with the depredations of globalization，but the developing world is particularly at risk．

This，then，is the story that implicates globalization in the destruction of cultural identity，and in the threat to that particular subset of cultural identity that we call“national identity”．But another，quite contradictory，story can be told:that globalization，far from destroying it，has been perhaps the most significant force in creating and proliferating cultural identity．This story involves a rather different understanding of the idea of“identity”than the somewhat reified understanding of an individual or collective possession．And it also involves a rather more complex understanding of the globalization process:one，at least，which allows for a degree of unpredictability in its consequences．

True or False Statements

1．Geographical place and cultural experience are believed to contribute to cultural identity before the age of globalization．

2．Identity is considered important for both individual and community．

3．In globalization Western countries have all round advantageous position over those of the non-Western countries．

4．Globalization destroys the old traditional identities completely and replaces it with the new homogeneous ones．

5．Globalization puts cultural identity at risk because identity is a barrier to globalization．