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When we speak of westernization we usually refer to the western developed countries viz. countries in western europe and north america. We don't consider the less developed countries in eastern europe or the latin americas. westernization and modernization seemed to be different concepts but they are very much similar to each other.. Modernization began in western society since the period of renaissance and industrial revolution. Before that most of the European society were orthodox in outlook and feudal in nature. Religion and feudalism directed every action of their life (there was no individual freedom). With the advent of industrialization and technological advancements people began to think for individual liberties, freedom of expression ,rule of law, participation in decision making etc. which led the the birth of democracy. Westernization and modernization is a unilinear process that will conclude when other cultures essentially ape the West. Even the advocates who separate modernization from westernization would agree that without bringing in western values we cannot become modernize alone. The western values are not an inherent qualities of western civilization ,it was a product of modernization. Any eastern nation following the path of modernization would follow more or less similar path. The history of Asia speaks about it. During the meiji restoration Japan adopted western way following which she became the only asian country who could stand on the same level as the western countries. China has chosen western model of development and that model has been the driving force of her economy. India has chosen to accept western values and ethos binded with traditional values since the framing of the constitution.
However IMHO westernization doesn't mean everything about the west would be good. The good ones should be adopted while bad ones should be discarded.
"Do culture, language and tradition disappear with new technology or does culture influence the way people adapt to new products? "
It is not newer technology per se but a number of other important elements which are responsible for changes in the language, culture and traditions change for example when France was formed only the elite class used to speak French but today French is the most widespread language in France all the other languages are almost dead, similarly culture may change with an response to different changes like the amount of importance gained by English language in last 3 decades in India is a pattern which clearly makes us understand that culture and tradition are volatile.
The other part of your question is equally true in the sense that culture has equal ramifications on the adaptation of norms in an society . i would like to give you an example here, you may have seen advertisement by Gillet, in their advertisement a clean shaven man is very common sight but Gillet was in a limbo when they planned to launch their product in Saudi Arabia where growing beard is a very common trend . they sold their products as surgical products to cut hairs during operation procedure. this is product assimilation and adaptation with respect to a specific culture. culture and development are interdependent concepts with varying degree of pace for its mobility.
Bro only after reading your apologetic comment i came to know this is a thread menat for sociology...:) another point is , though i don't wish to start a debate but some of the concepts like rule of law, participatory democracy are older then what you have mentioned for example Rule of law was the core of Magna Carta of 11th century england
Do culture, language and tradition disappear with new technology or does culture influence the way people adapt to new products? In my opinion, it occurs both ways but technology changing culture has more intensity as compared to the other way round. Technology not only brings new ideas into practice but also empowers people in a way changing the way we think and the way we practice our culture. For example an amputee who cannot dream of becoming an athlete ,technology has provided solutions for it. A tribal society may have their dialect encoded in cyberworld and thus save the language from extinction and instead use it for redevelopment of their language. It empowers common man to participate and provide meaningful contributions for the development of the society. Thus technology acts as a important facilitator of democracy and the ideas of liberty and freedom. Technology has influenced culture from time immemorial. Invention of hunting tools, wheel etc. brought early men together to form society. Building of ships allowed navigation to far off places and spread of religion occurred. Industrial revolution changed the feudal nature of society. Recently the events of arab spring and honkong revolution showed how technology can play an important role to voice for democratic rights and freedom. With time some cultures,language and tradition may dissappear . But this is not related to technology.It was since ancient times. For eg when persia was conquered by arabs, zoraostrianism religion was replaced by Islam. However with the help of present day technology the religous sites or cultures could be preserved.
Bro only after reading your apologetic comment i came to know this is a thread menat for sociology...:) another point is , though i don't wish to start a debate but some of the concepts like rule of law, participatory democracy are older then what you have mentioned for example Rule of law was the core of Magna Carta of 11th century england
thanks for enlightening me. I didnt knew about 11th century magna carta pls tell something about it.. I knew only about dicey who lived in 18-19th century..
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westernization and modernization seemed to be different concepts but they are very much similar to each other.. Modernization began in western society since the period of renaissance and industrial revolution. Before that most of the European society were orthodox in outlook and feudal in nature. Religion and feudalism directed every action of their life (there was no individual freedom). With the advent of industrialization and technological advancements people began to think for individual liberties, freedom of expression ,rule of law, participation in decision making etc. which led the the birth of democracy.
Westernization and modernization is a unilinear process that will conclude when other cultures essentially ape the West. Even the advocates who separate modernization from westernization would agree that without bringing in western values we cannot become modernize alone. The western values are not an inherent qualities of western civilization ,it was a product of modernization. Any eastern nation following the path of modernization would follow more or less similar path.
The history of Asia speaks about it. During the meiji restoration Japan adopted western way following which she became the only asian country who could stand on the same level as the western countries. China has chosen western model of development and that model has been the driving force of her economy. India has chosen to accept western values and ethos binded with traditional values since the framing of the constitution.
However IMHO westernization doesn't mean everything about the west would be good. The good ones should be adopted while bad ones should be discarded.
It is not newer technology per se but a number of other important elements which are responsible for changes in the language, culture and traditions change for example when France was formed only the elite class used to speak French but today French is the most widespread language in France all the other languages are almost dead, similarly culture may change with an response to different changes like the amount of importance gained by English language in last 3 decades in India is a pattern which clearly makes us understand that culture and tradition are volatile.
The other part of your question is equally true in the sense that culture has equal ramifications on the adaptation of norms in an society . i would like to give you an example here, you may have seen advertisement by Gillet, in their advertisement a clean shaven man is very common sight but Gillet was in a limbo when they planned to launch their product in Saudi Arabia where growing beard is a very common trend . they sold their products as surgical products to cut hairs during operation procedure. this is product assimilation and adaptation with respect to a specific culture. culture and development are interdependent concepts with varying degree of pace for its mobility.
Bro only after reading your apologetic comment i came to know this is a thread menat for sociology...:)
another point is , though i don't wish to start a debate but some of the concepts like rule of law, participatory democracy are older then what you have mentioned for example Rule of law was the core of Magna Carta of 11th century england
In my opinion, it occurs both ways but technology changing culture has more intensity as compared to the other way round. Technology not only brings new ideas into practice but also empowers people in a way changing the way we think and the way we practice our culture. For example an amputee who cannot dream of becoming an athlete ,technology has provided solutions for it. A tribal society may have their dialect encoded in cyberworld and thus save the language from extinction and instead use it for redevelopment of their language. It empowers common man to participate and provide meaningful contributions for the development of the society. Thus technology acts as a important facilitator of democracy and the ideas of liberty and freedom. Technology has influenced culture from time immemorial. Invention of hunting tools, wheel etc. brought early men together to form society. Building of ships allowed navigation to far off places and spread of religion occurred. Industrial revolution changed the feudal nature of society.
Recently the events of arab spring and honkong revolution showed how technology can play an important role to voice for democratic rights and freedom.
With time some cultures,language and tradition may dissappear . But this is not related to technology.It was since ancient times. For eg when persia was conquered by arabs, zoraostrianism religion was replaced by Islam. However with the help of present day technology the religous sites or cultures could be preserved.