Integration & Isolation of People of Different Cultures

Integration & Isolation of People of Different Cultures
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Integration & Isolation of People of Different Cultures
Introduction
The wake of globalization has seen the global society transform. This transformation has taken two perspectives the one of isolation, as well as, integration. The global society has transformed as it is tuned to the new demands. People’s lifestyles have also transformed as they make effort to survive in the new world order. Increased immigration caused by many factors such as education, work, and family has also played a critical role towards the changes, which have been witnessed. However, as all these takes place, the question that has remained is that are the people of different cultures heading towards integration or isolation. This question seeks to look at the future of the society today. This paper attempts to look at the future, by analyzing if people of different culture coming closer will characterize the future or increasingly getting isolated from each other.
I see a future characterized by cultural mix. A future, which is governed by the interests of many people from different cultures, as opposed to the dominating cultures ruling over the people. I see a future where people’s focus will cease from safeguarding the interests of their cultural orientation to giving priority to the interests of a larger society. This is a future of all, other than the dominant cultures taking control. A future, which will clearly condemn cultural favoritism and advance unity of purpose in life, this is the future, which I see. However, eve with this in mind, there are a number of realities, which have to be considered, as well as, the opposing views raised on the matter.
One cannot underscore the fact that there exist factors, which counter integration and the coming together of people from different cultures. These are real issues within the society, which bars the society and the people from different cultures to come together. Analyzing these factors may assist in understanding how the future is going to be. This is because the future is dependent on the current trends of behavioral patterns, attitudes, beliefs, and practices of the people. These play a critical role in shaping the behaviors and actions of people towards integration or isolation. In this regard, then they play a critical role in determining how the future is going to be.
Various arguments have been presented in support for a future where people of different cultures increasingly isolated from each other. For instance, there has been an argument that societies are developing closed social and symbolic systems. These systems are the ones, which dictate the social lifestyles of the people. They influence the nature and scope of decisions, which people can make about their connectedness with people of other cultures. In other words, the systems imply that it would be difficult for the people from different cultures to come closely together; instead, the people would maintain some levels of isolation. However, I am of the opinion that people control systems and not the other way out. In this regard, if we consider the people’s actions in the present age, then considerable levels of integration are being realized (Castells, 1996).
The real existence of cultural boundaries is another area of study, which speaks a lot about the future. In essence, there are cultural boundaries, between each culture, and this element gives each culture some levels of uniqueness. It has been argued by various scholars that members of different cultures will be willing to compromise their cultural stand, but not beyond these cultural boundaries. This means that in the near future, people may come together unconsciously through the social, political, and economic factors, which push for cultural integration; however, the people will consciously maintain their cultural boundaries. In this regard, when the each of the cultural groups is conscious about their cultural boundaries, then there is likely to be increased isolation in future among people of different cultures. However, I find this view superficial, because those cultural boundaries are not absolute. In fact, in the society of the day, these boundaries are diminishing one by one, and new universal cultures are developed. This means that the future is heading towards people of different cultures getting along.
In addition, some arguments have also been developed that the ideas of culture, groups, and societies are entities, and not behavioral patterns, which respond to the changing times. The proponents of this view claim that the fact that cultures is entities, and then they can be shaped to favor the people who esteem their cultures. In this case, assessing from a rational view, most rational people would prefer to shape their cultures to keep their value systems, and this will oppose t...