Sam and Jane have been arguing about the effects of globalization as a form of modernization or Westernization of the world. Sam points out all of globalization's crass and commercialized aspects-the same McDonald's, consumer electronics, and pop culture icons all over the world-and the negative impact that Western culture has on local and indigenous cultures. Jane argues that Western personal and political freedoms ought to be made universal and that a more homogenous culture is a small price to pay for democracy and the liberation of women and minority groups.
With whom do you agree, Sam or Jane? Can economic and political modernization be divorced from cultural globalization?