This belief in the healing power of material goods, however, does not apply equally to everyone, since the world comprises many different cultures and many different value systems. Certain cultures may seek salvation and self-content through religion, social communion, and other non-material means. It is unfair to believe that Western definitions of prosperity and happiness apply to everyone.
Meanwhile, globalization -- making the world into one big free market -- keeps spreading, and to many, seems inevitable. Often, the push for globalization is wrapped in slogans such as “market economy”, “democracy” and “opportunity”. Some say that globalization is the way to bring prosperity to the impoverished corners of the world, while others say that it brings greed and eradicates indigenous cultures. At times, it seems that the wish to “feed the hungry” is merely an advertisement for expanding the markets of great agro businesses. Why not let a small farmer feed himself (subsistence farming), instead of declaring him inefficient, taking over his land, absorbing him into a “program”, and giving him handouts?
While globalization may be inevitable, many issues have risen in the West that were never so evident before. One is the extent to which psychological depression has invaded the lives of so many people. Is it coincidental that this condition is parallel with material growth? Perhaps. But it is hard to avoid the conclusion that there is a serious relation between the two, and that as people focus more and more on material wealth, they have surrendered the traditional values that have given them psychological strength in times of need. Having a McDonald’s in the city square does not compensate for a child’s being lost to drugs. And make no mistake about it: the expansion of international drug cultures is a result of globalization. It may be easier there days to get a double cheeseburger anywhere in the world, but it is also easier to get an illegal substance such as cocaine or heroin.
According to statistics complied by the Cross-National Collaborative Group major depression is the number one physiological disorder in the Western world, especially amongst teens, whereas in another recent study involving Chinese people living in Chinatown, a very low amount were found to be depressive. Notably, Chinese cultures are very often insulated from Western values.
In Psychology 101 we are taught that depression is a psychiatric disorder, and may be caused by socio-politico elements like poverty, lack of power, suppression, and low self-esteem stemming from early childhood problems. And yet, the rich seem to be equally, or even more, depressed that the indigent. “In fact it was true to say that they were far ahead of us in the most intangible of assets: happiness,” according to Joe Walters, who examined how people lived in countries like Kenya and Tanzania. To people in those countries, there were many more important things than money and consumerism. Friendship, a reliable family constellation, and traditional spirituality may bring people to a higher level of well-being, and cause less stress, than the simple accumulation of material goods.
In its study, the Cross-National Collaborative Group found that Chinese people – who represented an underdeveloped economy – had less cases of depression than people from the West. Some people might think that this study is too parochial or biased because it was done only in downtown Manhattan. But as someone who has lived in New York for several years, I consider Chinatown to be like a separate country in downtown Manhattan. It is as if a small part of Shanghai were cut out of China and dropped down not far from Wall Street. Most of the people there do not speak English, and are only in New York to support their families back home. They keep to traditional Chinese values, recognize Chinese authority in their workplaces and social gatherings, and have no intention of integrating into the larger American society. Thus, the study is essentially comparing two societies from different worlds: the West and the Third World.
As mentioned before, the Cross National Collaborative Group found that major depression is the number one disorder in the Western World. It is growing in all age groups, but especially amongst teens. Furthermore, the study affirms that an estimated 35 to 40 million Americans living today will suffer from major depression at some point in their lifetime. Additionally, a BBC News article online recently stated: “Depression will be the second leading cause of death by 2020, predicts the World Health Organization. Many blame increasing job and relationship insecurity for the rise in mental illness.” Job and relationship insecurities are all issues related to the industrial world, and caused by the relentless emphasis on the need to acquire material wealth before all else. In a Business Week magazine article titled “Is keeping up with the Jones killing us?”, Juliet B. Schor comes to the conclusion that wanting Gucci sunglasses because our neighbor has them is “making us crazy”. Materialism is driving people into a never-ending spiral of competition, making us unhappy, and in some cases unpatriotic, unless we accumulate more and more goods.
On the other hand, in Chinatown, New York, there was a study examining Chinese patients to determine whether or not they were depressed. After examining some 900 eligible patients, only a small percentage was found to have any depressive or anxiety related issues. Many communities in South America and Africa still do not suffer widely from this natural chemical imbalance called depression. On the contrary, instead of focusing on material gain, these traditional societies seem to focus on spiritual well-being.
In recent years, however, cases of depression and anxiety are increasing slowly in Third World countries. And the reason for that increase might be indirectly related to the legacy of globalization.
Of course, we all have basic emotional needs for food, water, and shelter. But in developed countries these needs often become confused. Luxuries are disguised as basic needs, and people are made to feel inadequate if they don’t display evidence of material prosperity. In developed countries our basic emotional needs have now become much larger than expected. We want (and are made to feel we need) cars, clothes, and cash at our fingertips. Such “needs” don’t exist in underdeveloped countries.
Meanwhile, we are not only polluting our own country, but we are polluting those of others when we build ecologically inefficient industries there. Some might say that we are creating jobs in poor countries, which indeed we are. But also, we risk creating a new form of imperialism. By offering jobs at low wages in countries where no jobs are available, we entice the population to work in these industries, and we make large profits from the fruits of their labor. Moreover, we separate them from their own cultural values.
An article by Anita Chan talks of a Nike factory in China, and analyzes the lifestyle of the workers. During the summer of 1996, Ms. Chan examined workers at the Nike factory in Dongguan City. She states that “they have instituted harshly regimented labor conditions” talking about how the managers treat their workers. Furthermore, she states that some of the factories in China “do not even allow workers to leave the factory compound after work. In extreme cases, the isolation and iron discipline are prison-like.” Although this management style may reflect the darker side of Chinese tradition more than it does Nike, Western industries are not doing enough to protest it. In their quest for cheap labor, Western companies have turned a blind eye to the inhuman treatment of their workers, permitting them to work under conditions that no American worker would endure.
Moreover, not only are Western industries polluting their own countries, they are also polluting those of others when they build ecologically inefficient industries there. Some might say that we create jobs, which indeed we do. But also, we risk creating a new form of imperialism. By offering jobs at low wages in countries where no jobs are available, we entice the population to work in these industries, and we make large profits from the fruits of their labor. Western countries should insist on better working conditions for their foreign workers.
As globalization increases, the gap between rich and poor seems also to increase. Erich Weede remarks: “Globalization can be understood as a process of market expansion and market integration, as the universalization of capitalism.” Here the key word is “market”. The marketplace and the market ethic have replaced traditional religion and whatever spiritual underpinnings society had. If it sells, it’s ethical. If it employs people, it’s legal. Greed has taken on the mantle of respectability.
Westernization is often defined as the adoption of Western culture. While it is usually meant to suggest an advance in living standards, it also has its negative aspects. For example, one of them is obesity. America has a very high obesity rate because Americans consume a lot of junk food. Countries like China that had never heard of the term obese now have problems with overweight people. When other places become Westernized, they tend to adopt the diet of Americans, and become obese.
Another problem that comes with Westernization is high pollution. Some countries don’t have that many cars; they get around by foot, or bike, or other means. When countries like these become Westernized, more cars and factories appear, and pollution increases because of all the chemicals burned to generate energy.
When people become Westernized, they lose some of their native culture. They begin to conform to Western lifestyles. This conversion prevents newer generations from learning about their customs and traditions, including their own languages. Moreover, it removes a kind of psychological safety net from their way of life. It cuts loose old traditions that provided refuge in times of stress, without replacing them with anything else. It substitutes material values for spiritual traditions. Improving one’s standard of living is admirable, but “living” involves more than material prosperity. It can include improvements in sanitation, medical care, potable water, etc,, but there must also be a spiritual component.
Another problem that occurs with Westernization is rapid urbanization. As small farms become obsolete because of the emergence of large international agribusinesses, farmers tend to move to urban areas, and because there is not enough room or jobs for everyone in the city, many people cannot find jobs and become unemployed and homeless.
When "underdeveloped" areas of the world decide to become Westernized, they need a lot of capital for this process. Most of the time they don’t have enough money, and so they end up borrowing a lot from rich nations and international institutions like the World Bank, which charge them high interest rates and force them to abandon many social services as too costly. Often their interest payments are among their highest costs, and they have to pay so much interest that they can not use the money they borrowed for development.
Economic development is good when it comes to providing the market with a bigger variety of economical possibilities. But it can also have destructive effects, especially when the West builds industries in developing countries where it destroys local cultures. Local cultures must be respected. In addition, globalization should not be exported solely for profit. It should recognize local values and traditions, at the same time that it is trying to raise the living standards of the local population.
As we try to globalize the world we run the risk of killing traditional cultures and exporting new problem such as stress and depression. People in the Third World are often much closer to nature, and are able to enjoy simple things such as music, dance and socializing. In Brazil, for example, the annual carnival allows people to express their deepest feelings in music and dance. The celebration has nothing to do with material assets. Anyone can participate. One would hate to see such joy and excitement become “regulated”. “In our world, where we live in a solitary confinement of our own making, among tiny nuclear family units, where we pay in every relationship with the outside world in cash, we have discarded the most important thing of all. We have lost our network of friendships,” according to Jof Walters. Perhaps, instead of having one society try to standardize the rest of the world, we should learn from one other and share traditions and ideas.
Furthermore, we have organizations allegedly trying to help the impoverished countries, but which, in effect, are either imposing foreign cultures on them, or are exploiting them for the benefit of rich nations. The World Bank lends money to Westernize developing countries, and charges them so much interest that they cannot afford to build needed infrastructures. There must be more communication among nations, so that gifts can become true gifts and not a way of maintaining dependency.
Of course, not all Western ways have been destructive. Though we have created lots of problems in our push for greater production, we have also developed new medicines and new technologies, and made them affordable to large numbers of peoples. Most important, we live longer. In our space explorations we have gained new knowledge about the universe we live in, and many of the products and technologies first developed for space travel, have trickled down to the benefit of the general population. The key is to be able to combine the need for intangible values such as happiness with the search for new technology. The old ways of being happy remind us that as we try to push for a First World mentality, old fashions stay with us.
Finally, I would like to end with the powerful lines of Lalleshwari, a Kashmiri Poetess of the 14th century (1320-1390):
The soul, like the moon,
Is new, and always new again.
And I have seen the ocean
Continuously creating.
Since I scoured my mind
And my body, I too am new,
Each moment new
Bibliography
Walters, Jof. (2001). Future Racing. “Learning from a ‘less developed’ world.”
Ullrich, Otto. (2003) “Technology”. In Wolfgang Sachs (ed) The Development Dictionary, (Witwatersrand University Press) pp.275-286
Schor, Juliet (1998) “Is Keeping up with the Jones killing us?”. BusinessWeek magazine.
Chan, Anita. (1996) “Boot Camp at the Shoe Factory” The Washington Post. (P. C01)
Weissman, Klerman. (2004) “Major depression facts” from the Cross-National Collaborative Group.
Lubetkin, El. Jia, H. Gold MR. PubMed. “Depression, anxiety, and associated health status in low-income Chinese patients”.
_______. “Experts to tackle depression deluge” BBC News. Pub 11.29.1999.
Weede, Erich. “The Diffusion of Prosperity and Peace by Globalization”. The Independent Review, v. IX, n.2, Fall 2004.
