The reality of culture, explored

Now that I've got this ball rolling, I've been looking for further paths down which this ball may roll. Let's see...

As globalization continues and the world becomes more integrated, cultures will compete. I think this is a good thing if there is transparency and communication. Let's take the old expression 'the marketplace of ideas' and tweak it to, 'the marketplace of cultural ideas'. To pursue this line of thought I've come across a book that may be worth reading, Creative Destruction: How Globalization Is Changing the World's Cultures, by Tyler Cowen. If anyone has read it or knows of some interesting reviews, chime in. Results from google seem to show that it was well received in mainstream conservative circles. From what I can glean, this book concentrates on physical manifestations of culture like McDonalds and art. I'm more interested in cultural beliefs and practices. For example, in a transparent, global society, doesn't the idea of honor killing get eliminated?

Will cultures form hybrids? Will there be a cultural melange? My google skills turned up these possibilities, Jan Nederveen Pieterse's Globalization and Culture: Global Melange, and Hybridity, Or The Cultural Logic Of Globalization, by Marwin M. Kraidy. The publisher's notes state that Kraidy's book uses case studies that make "an argument for understanding the importance of the dynamics of communication, uneven power relationships, and political economy as well as culture, in situations of hybridity." That seems worthy of further investigation. I don't think anyone is for a homogenized global culture, at least I'm not, but there are cultural differences that will have to be overcome.

Where does culture come from? How do we develop these attachments? Walter Goldschmidt's The Bridge to Humanity: How Affect Hunger Trumps the Selfish Gene looks interesting. He describes affect hunger as “the urge to get expressions of affection from others.” According to a review of the book (link to review), Goldschmidt is of the school that finds merit in the new developments in neuroscience and how they inform anthropology, though he takes issue with Steven Pinker. That looks interesting.

If culture can sometimes be an "illusory force", as Amartya Sen phrased it, what of nationalism? I'm going to roll the ball down this reading path, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, New Edition, by Benedict Anderson.

That ought to keep me busy for awhile. Here's my dilemma, I can acquire these books faster than I can read them. I need a USB port for my brain.