Different cultures have different unique traits. In the global village that the world has become, traveling to different countries for either leisure or business is a common thing. However, the number of people who experience culture shock is clear evidence that people take no time to research the cultures in their destination places before embarking on the journey that takes them there. Culture shock can be either way, delightful or outright nasty. Take for example a person who travels to china from the United States. He/she would find it completely hard to fit in an environment where loud talking and spitting on the streets is the order of the day, on the other hand, he/she would also get to see and enjoy the Chinese festivals, their diverse cuisine and their artistic nature.
USA Culture
America today prides itself as one among the most culturally diverse society in the world. While this fact can be argued either way, it is a fact that America, as people know it today, comprises of different people from different cultures who settled in the countries. This diversity is evident in their music, fashion, cuisine, visual arts, cinema and literature and due to the propagation of the same through the media; the American culture has today become the pedestal through which other cultures are evaluated for modesty (Americans-world.org). It is aptly named the popular culture and is propagated to the rest of the world through, television, movies, music, and sports. The attitudes of the American people are based on the desire for happiness, secure life, and liberty (knowledgerush.com). As such, the American people are free to believe whatever they want, to pursue goals self-interest goals,and enjoy free markets.
Social identity is the psychological process of linking oneself to other people based on what perceive as shared traits. (Walsh, K. C.2004). Owing to the fact that America has diverse groups of people who share common traits amongst themselves and not necessarily with other Americans, it would be hard to give the culture a single social identity. However, language is among one popular trait that gives them a social identity. Americans recognize English as the main identifying factor for its people. However, Spanish is also a major part of the culture mainly because some South American countries use the language exclusively or alongside English (knowledgerush.com)
The trend that emerges from this individualistic culture is that individuals are not assured of family support, but can benefit from organized group support or interventions set by the government. The subsistence patterns depend on the nature of the family unit and American culture being too individualistic, one can always seek help from a social group or organized groups that came into being as a result of the deficiency created in the home scene. Like many other places in the world, women in America are more than men. In fact, for every woman in the country, there are 0.99 men. However, because of the liberal working environment that America poses, there is no major impact on the workforce, but the effects affect industries such as beauty, fashion, and the clothing industry (unece.org).
Political culture in America is equally fascinating; there are two unique divisions among the people- the liberals and the conservatives. These two groups have die-hard supporters in the population and make up the two dominant political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party (issuesinperspective.com). America has proven overtime-except for few instances where rigging was suspected- that her democracy is something that the rest of the world can emulate.
The separation of the church and the state in the US provided the citizens with the freedom to belong or refrain from any religion. 86 percent of Americans however believe are religious and attend religious services (lifeintheusa.com) social control in the American culture is mainly administered through the constitution and the justice system, where anybody who goes against socially acceptable behaviors is charged and if found guilty is punished accordingly. The Americans uphold the rule of law, where everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The Japanese culture
The Japanese culture on the other hand is less liberal but emphasizes more on hard work and success in life. Unlike the American culture where education is given modest significance, the Japanese believe that education assures them of a better social, economical, and political status. As such, they raise their children with not only educational sensibilities but also keep them aware of the design, artistic and aesthetic expectations of their country (headrush.typepad.com). While the Japanese culture encourages personal success, Shinto, the native religion requires that people should not pursue self-edifying activities, which in turn harm other people in the society. Maybe the Japanese culture can be summed up by the teaching of the Shinto, which states that man is a god(kami), while the world, work, wealth, fruits, sex are good. According to the Japanese, war is good only when a person wins it. The culture believes that humankind should be portrayed to the outside world as they are and not how they should be (Craig, T. J). The Japanese popular culture, although not as the American has a strong strain of innocence, idealism, dreams, romance, and daring adventure compared to the American culture whose cynical attitudes could be interpreted as an attempt to discredit people.
There are 0.95 males for every female in Japan. However, the women in this country have taken up jobs just like the men. Japan is among countries, which faces population crises because the women in this country are not giving birth at a rate that would ensure that the country has enough workforces in coming years (lifesitenews.com) Women also prefer to stay single, and a significant percentage of those who marry opt not to have children. Most families in Japan have an average of one child per household. Religion in Japan is predominantly Shinto. The second-largest religion is Buddhism, while other religions like Christianity and Islam have minority adherents. The Shinto shrines hold some of the most magnificent pieces of art and offer visitors a wealth of knowledge about the Japanese culture (Japan-guide.com)
Social Control in the Japanese culture is a mandate of the constitution. However, people are also guided by the teachings of the Shinto, which advocate for the conservation of everything in the environment. The evolution of Japanese culture from the Jomon times (14,000 BC) to today’s culture has been greatly influenced by Asia, the US, and Europe. The Japanese language is another aspect of the Japanese culture that is unique both in dialect and in writing. Spoken Japanese is high pitched while the written form borrows heavily from the Chinese script, Latin alphabets, and Indian-Arabic numerals.
The Chinese culture
Modern Chinese culture, just like the Japanese culture has been affected by the popular culture from the United States and the United Kingdom. However, it still has unique traits that pay tribute to the Chinese way of life. Such include the celebrations of Chinese festivals, concerts, poetry, martial arts, and even music. Up to this day, Chinese families remain close-knit, unlike Japan, the country is reeling under a population explosion, and being a country with the highest population, the government had to intervene with a law that demanded that each family gets one child only. Today, China is among the few countries where the male population surpasses the females at 1.4 males for each female. This was because people practiced selective abortion and infanticide always preferring boys over girls (Rosenberg, M.).
In the past, there was an obvious distinction between the wealthy and the poor people in society. The culture had a deeply rooted class system that though affected by western cultures remains to this day. Of China’s poor people, the majority live in the countryside, while the rich occupy the cities and towns where most economic activity takes place. Although on a reduced scale, the Chinese strong family ties that led to up to five generations living in one homestead are still prevalent in families living in the rural areas.
Social identity, politics, and human relations in the Chinese culture no doubt borrow heavily from Confucianism. These are the behavior patterns or moral principles based on Confucius’sThere teachings and govern social structures, work ethics, virtuous behavior and human relations. They are set in five virtues that uphold humanity, wisdom, faithfulness, righteousness, humanity, and propriety ( Ch’en, 1986).
Patterns of subsistence in china mainly rely on the family setting, especially in the rural setting. The marriage and divorce trends in China however have taken a completely different route than was before. As opposed to the past where a couple would get married and stick together, divorce is now common practice in China. In 2004, 8.341 million couples married countrywide, while 1.613 registered divorces. Though divorce was allowed in the past where the woman was barren, lascivious, jealous, dishonest, or disobedient, the fact that the Chinese workforce comprises 45.6 percent of the female workforce puts extra strain on the family unit (Chinatown-online.com).
The Chinese political culture has been interpreted as a conflict and consensus arena, where the political, social, and economic issues are addressed by the political system that rules the country. The political culture undermines socialization, which has so far been accredited with the creation of a robust modern economy in the country. Overall, the Chinese culture is interesting and covers the development of the country from its dynasty era, to the revolution that brought about the Republic of China and later on the revolution that brought about the People’s Republic of China (academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu). The latter was meant to be evidence that china’s democracy indeed lay in the hands of its citizens. Whether this is the case, however, remains a debatable issue. One thing that is for sure is that the Chinese have always been patriotic and proud people who until the late 19th century safeguarded their local industries from western influences. They were even too proud to consume products that originated from western countries.
The Chinese religious culture is diverse since early times. Different religions have colorful temples in different places in China. Among the largest organized religions in china include folk religion, Buddhism, Taoism, and Mahayana Buddhism. Others include Christianity, Muslim, and Judaism. The Chinese people are free to choose whichever religion best fits them, and are also at liberty to declare their religious affiliations (cinaembassy.org)
Up until the 20th century, the Chinese were able to preserve their culture and only bowed to the European and American pressure once bilateral trade was open between China and other countries. The influence on all spheres of the society namely: political, social, and economic was felt. Economic reforms in the country have reformed her trade and bilateral relations exposing the populous country to growth and giving other countries exposure to its home market (World Bank, 2006).
United Kingdom Culture
The uniqueness of the British people may be hard to define especially considering that their influence is spread on all former British colonies throughout the world. America has its fair share of British influence, as does Asia, Africa, and Australia. This is witnessed by the use of British English in those countries. Since the United Kingdom is made of four countries namely, Britain, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the smaller languages such as Welsh, Scottish and Irish are also commonly use in the respective countries. 91.1 percent of the UK’s population is Caucasian, while other communities such as the Chinese, a fro-Caribbean, and South Asian account for the remaining percentage.
Social control in the United Kingdom is mainly done by the police who invoke the constitution to also commonly use arrest offenders, who are then handled by the justice system and just like the US system, presumes that the person is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The legal system in the UK is, however, diverse in the different countries. This means that whatever is legal in Scotland could be illegal in Wales. Most of the rules are however general (tripadvisor.com).
The United Kingdom’s economic system is based on capitalism, and advocates for free trade in a global economy. It also upholds the rules of a free market economy that responds to the forces of demand and supply. UK is a monarchy state governed by Queen Elizabeth II, who acts as the head of state, and the Prime minister heads the government There are two major parties namely the labor party and the conservative party. The four countries however have devolved country administrations.
Gender balance like Japan and USA favors women, as there are 30,209, 325 females compared to 28,579,869 males (tatistics.gov.uk/census2001). This notwithstanding, women misrepresentation in the UK is still a persistent cultural issue and this is evidenced in the representation of women in the UK’s parliamentary level (BBC.co.uk). Women remain underrepresented in decision-making organs of the government but have made impressive inroads in the corporate sector. According to statistics dated 2000, the annual number of marriages in the UK numbered 306, against divorce of 155 couples (Benson, H. 2000).
Unlike other cultures where religion plays a significant role, 66 percent of the UK nationals have no connection with any religious entity. On the same level, only 18 percent of the people attend any form of organized religion (vexen.co.uk/UK/religion, 2007).
The effects of culture change in the UK have been minimal mainly from the US and diffuse to the UK through Media channels, entertainment, literature, and architecture.
Conclusion
Although there is no standard definition of culture, the behavioral patterns, beliefs, values, and customs between the USA, Japan, UK, and China are evident. With the world becoming a global village, however, people can expect that even the most outstanding unique cultures will eventually thaw under the pressure of globalization. It is no wonder that some governments have set up cultural centers just to preserve their country’s unique traits for future reference. Whether these effortsthe Retrieved will succeed, only time will tell.
References
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- America Online (1995). Chinese Cultural Studies: Concise Political History of China.
- Crabtree V. (2007) religion in the United Kingdom Diversity, Trends and Decline. Web.
- Craig, J. (2000). Japan Pop!: Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture. M.E Sharpe Publishers
- Japan guide.com: Shinto shrines: Basic Information.
- Lifesitenews.com(2005). Japan Facing Population Crisis with Baby Shortage.
- Marsden, G. M(1982). Fundamentalism and American Culture: The Shaping of Twentieth-Century Evangelism: 1870-1925. Oxford University Press, US
- Perry E. J. (1990) Popular protest and Poliktical Culture in Modern China (2nd ed) Westview Press, Central Ave., (CO).
- Walsh, C, K.(2004). Talking about politics: Informal Groups and Social Identity in American Life. University of Chicago
- World Public Opinion.org Globalization of culture.