The first section of the French history textbook, picking up after WWII, focuses on globalization. Though it’s not overt in its anti-globalization stance, subtle is often more effective. I don’t want to defend globalization, but two things bother me as I read.
First, I’m tired of the suggestion that consuming US products and culture is forced. If people don’t buy it, if there’s no demand, then corporations can’t profit. That’s not to say corporations and media aren’t aggressive, but that consumers aren’t helpless victims.
Second, I don’t think the French, historically, have a right to claim moral high ground on the issue. Why do citizens of some African countries speak French? Napoleon undertook massive military and cultural invasions, and, unlike the decision to buy a coke or watch a Hollywood movie, his were occupations by force.
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2 comments:
shawn! nom de dieu,tu es dur avec nous! mais tu as tout a fait raison!
autrement: je n'est pas été beaucoup present ces temps-ci et je m'en excuse! tu sais que tu manques beaucoup ici!? j'ai retrouvé internet et je vais essayer d'etre sur skype tout les soirs donc si tu me voies, decroches!
bises
smooth...
I agree on both points.
It is not unusual to find culturally idealistic images in public school textbooks. They are chosen by politicized committees or bureaucrats.
After World War II, America was the only country that had any infrastructure left, so it was natural that we would become suppliers to the world, until they got back on their feet and compete. I'll use the automobile as an example. Americans didn't start buying Volkswagens in numbers until the Sixties, and Toyotas until the Seventies. We were insulated from the world market for nearly 50 years. I remember when Asian goods were mostly shoddy, and European goods were mostly expensive and never fresh. Bananas and sugar came from the Carribean and Central America, coffee from South America.
Today it is a global market because every country is competing to sell their goods. Air freight has made every market accessible, even to perishables. Coffee now comes from EVERYWHERE. Peaberry dark roast, picked by pygmy farmers on the slopes of Mt. Whatchamacallit, is available at your corner coffee shop.
There are also vast differences between the dreams of French Academia and the deeds of French Capitalism. Alcatel, the French company, sells telephone equipment all the world over; they absorbed our once-mighty AT&T manufacturer, Western Electric/Lucent. The French government routinely passes along business information gained through espionage to French companies.
Globalization is simply global capitalism. It is not a conspiracy; it is a natural market. Some of it is unfairly subsidized. Most of it is unfair to the laborers who produce the goods and services, and too generous to the captains of industry, their friends, bankers, and minions.
How nice to have Smooth agree with you!
à toute à l'heure!
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