Read the passage and answer the questions:
Globalization and change
Globalisation as a concept fundamentally deals with flows of various kinds — ideas moving from one part of the world to another, capital shunted between two or more places, commodities being traded across borders, and people moving in search of better livelihoods to different parts of the world. The crucial element is the ‘worldwide interconnectedness’ that is created and sustained as a consequence of these constant flows. If globalisation is about the flows of ideas, capital, commodities, and people, it is perhaps logical to ask if there is anything novel about this phenomenon. Globalisation results in an erosion of state capacity, that is, the ability of government to do what they do. All over the world, the old ‘welfare state’ is now giving way to a more minimalist state that performs certain core functions such as the maintenance of law and order and the security of its citizens. A part of the problem has to do with defining economic globalisation itself. The mention of economic globalisation draws our attention immediately to the role of international institutions like the IMF and the WTO and the role they play in determining economic policies across the world. While cultural homogenisation is an aspect of globalisation, the same process also generates precisely the opposite effect. It leads to each culture becoming more different and distinctive. This phenomenon is called cultural heterogenisation.
As per the paragraph, the rise of a uniform culture is termed as?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Cultural homogenisation
Option (1) Financial homogenisation — Incorrect. The rise of a uniform culture is about cultures becoming alike, not about money or finance.
Option (2) Cultural homogenisation — Correct. The cultural effect of globalisation leads to the fear that it threatens the cultures of the world, because globalisation leads to the rise of a uniform culture or what is called cultural homogenisation. The passage names cultural homogenisation as an aspect of globalisation, and its opposite effect as cultural heterogenisation.
Option (3) Structural homogenisation — Incorrect. The question is about culture, the way people live, eat and dress, not about the structures of states or economies.
Option (4) Demographic homogenisation — Incorrect. Demography is about population, its size and make-up; a uniform culture is about cultures, not people’s numbers.
Note: The passage uses the term cultural homogenisation but does not use the words ‘uniform culture’; the link between the two comes from the chapter’s section on the cultural consequences of globalisation, shown below.
NCERT (2025-26): “Cultural Consequences … The consequences of globalisation are not confined only to the sphere of politics and economy. Globalisation affects us in our home, in what we eat, drink, wear and indeed in what we think. It shapes what we think are our preferences. The cultural effect of globalisation leads to the fear that this process poses a threat to cultures in the world. It does so, because globalisation leads to the rise of a uniform culture or what is called cultural homogenisation. The rise of a uniform culture is not the emergence of a global culture.…” |