Cultural Iperialism
...to impose their cultural values on other nations. Today, the United States, in the name of freedom of the market and freedom of expression, is intruding into the cultures of other countries in the world. Some people say that the American’s spread of culture is beneficial to the entire planet, arguing that people in the world want it to happen, that the cultural influences are a two-way process between the US and other countries and that it is beneficial to everybody. On the other hand, some people consider cultural imperialism as a threat. They argue that it is destroying the cultural diversity of our planet, that it is imposed on people and that it doesn’t give a chance to people in other countries to express themselves freely. After exposing the arguments of the controversy, we will focus on some legal options that have been found to reject cultural imperialism.
Culture and imperialism are two broad terms that have to be defined. The term “Culture” comes from the 15th century, from the Latin word “Cultura.” In 1982, the UNESCO adopted in Mexico City, during the World Conference on Cultural Policies (MONDIACULT), the following definition of culture:
Culture… is… the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that characterize a society or social group. It includes not only arts and letters, but also life, the fundamental rights of the human being, value systems, traditions and beliefs.
According to the Meriam-Webster dictionary, culture is “the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behaviour that depends upon man's capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations.” It can also be defined as “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group.”
One could define the American culture with many different concepts (some of which might...
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