DIFFERENCE REVITALIZED

Globalization, we should remember, is an ongoing process or, more accurately, set of processes. It is incomplete and its outcome far from predetermined. Geographer Peter Jackson is a strong proponent of the position that cultural differences are not simply obliterated under the wave of globalization. For Jackson, globalization is best understood as a “site of struggle.” He means that cultural practices rooted in place shape the effects of globalization through resistance, transformation, and hybridization. In other words, globalization is not an all-powerful force. People in different places respond in different ways, rejecting outright some of what globalization brings while transforming and absorbing other aspects into local culture. Rather than one homogeneous globalized culture, Jackson sees multiple local consumption cultures.

Local consumption culture refers to the consumption practices and preferences—in food, clothing, music, and so on—formed in specific places and historical moments. These local consumption cultures often shape globalization and its effects. In some ways, globalization revitalizes local difference. That is, people reject or incorporate into their cultural practices the ideas and artifacts of globalization and in the process reassert place-based identities.

For example, when England-based Cadbury decided to market its line of chocolates and confections in China, the company was forced to conform to local practices. Unlike much of Europe and North America, China had no culture of impulse buying and no tradition of self-service. Cadbury had to change the names of its products, eschew mass marketing, focus on a small group of high-end consumers, and even change product content. Jackson suggests that the introduction of Cadbury’s chocolate to China is more than simply another sign of globalization. He argues that the case “demonstrates the resilience of local consumption cultures to which transnational corporations must adapt.”

In cases where companies’ products are negatively associated with their place of origin, such as exports from apartheid South Africa, the global ambitions of multinational companies can be thwarted. In such cases, labeling and advertising must mask the geographic origin of products lest global markets reject them. “Local” circumstances thus can make a difference to the outcomes of globalization.

Local resistance to globalization often takes the form of consumer nationalism. This occurs when local consumers avoid foreign companies or imported products and favor domestic businesses and products (Figure 2.40). India and China, in particular, have a long history of resisting outside domination through boycotts of imported goods. Jackson discusses a recent case in China in which Chinese entrepreneurs invented a local alternative to Kentucky Fried Chicken called Ronghua Fried Chicken Company. The company uses what it claims are traditional Chinese herbs in its recipe, delivering a product more suitable to Chinese cultural tastes.