Navigating the Global Village: A Reflection on Culture, Power, and Identity

“A global identity shaped at the intersection of culture, capital, and power.”

I’ve always been stuck on this one question: how does culture actually work? I don’t just mean the music we listen to or the food we eat, but the invisible "programming" that tells us who we are and where we fit. My own life has been a bit of a whirlwind in this regard. I was born in Pakistan, but I’ve lived in the UK and the Middle East for over eight years. When you move between these worlds, you realize the "global village" isn't just a friendly exchange of ideas. It’s actually a massive machine.

Looking back on my travels, I’ve become pretty skeptical of how our "norms" develop. I often argue that what we call culture is actually the byproduct of imperialism—first the historical kind, and now a "corporate imperialism" fueled by global capitalism. We aren't just sharing traditions; we are living in a world where our very identities are shaped by the needs of the market.

The "Culture Industry" and the Death of Originality

If you look at the world today, culture feels less like a conversation and more like an industry. This "culture industry" has a very specific effect: it infects everything with a weird kind of sameness. Whether you’re in a mall in Dubai or a café in London, modern media keeps us so busy that we lose the ability to actually imagine anything new. Back in the day, art had a certain purity. Now, technology has turned it into a product that just pollutes our mindsets, making us all want the same things and act the same way.

Bourdieu and the Social Mirror

If the industry builds the products, Pierre Bourdieu’s theories explain why we’re so desperate to buy them. He talked about "capital" in three ways: Economic (the money you have), Cultural (the knowledge you carry), and Social (your network). These three things mix together to create our Habitus—the internal compass that tells us how to act without us even realizing it.

When Bourdieu said, “Taste classifies, and it classifies the classifier,” he hit the nail on the head. Our "tastes" aren't just personal preferences; they are social badges. Think about when the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) copied a viral post from Kim Kardashian. It wasn't just a joke. It showed how a privileged class can navigate even a disaster like the COVID-19 pandemic with a special kind of "distinction." While the rest of the world was struggling, the elite were escaping to private islands. Their "taste" for luxury is actually a shield of capital that keeps them separate from everyone else.

The Engine Under the Hood: Marx’s Theory

To really get why the world is built this way, you have to look at Karl Marx’s theory of the Base and the Superstructure. This is probably the most important concept for understanding power.

Marx says that at the bottom of everything is the Base. This is the economy—the factories, the social relations, and the way we produce things. This Base is the foundation that shapes the Superstructure. The Superstructure is everything else we see: our laws, our schools, our religion, and our media.

It’s a cycle. For example, capitalism (the Base) demands competition. Because of that, our Superstructure (like our schools and the "hustle culture" we see on Instagram) is shaped to reward that competition. In return, the Superstructure maintains the Base. Our laws aren't just "fair rules"; they are the Superstructure designed to protect private property and keep the capitalist engine running. Even the way we view politics is often just a reflection of what the economy needs to survive.

Control: From Force to Ideology

How does the system keep everyone in line? Louis Althusser expanded on Marx by pointing out two different tools. First, there’s the Repressive State Apparatus (RSA). This is the "hard" power—the police, the army, and the courts that use force or the threat of it to maintain order.

But the "soft" power is much scarier: the Ideological State Apparatus (ISA). This includes our families, our schools, and the media. These don't use violence; they use ideas. Althusser quoted the philosopher Pascal, who said that if you kneel and move your lips in prayer, you will eventually believe. Basically, if you do the rituals long enough, you start to believe the ideology. We see this when we "interpolate" ourselves into characters like Captain America. We don't just watch the movie; we start to adopt the hero’s values as our own.

Digital Labor and the Power of "Cunning"

Even our phones are part of this. Tiziana Terranova’s idea of "free labor" shows how the internet relies on us to create content for free so big companies can profit. We even see this in ads that try to divide us, calling some workers "expensive" and others "expendable" based on their visa status. This keeps the workforce split, which is exactly what the economic Base wants.

However, there’s always a way to push back. Michel Foucault talked about how knowledge is power, but he also mentioned “small acts of cunning with a greater power of diffusion.” We saw this during the pandemic. A small act, like wearing a mask or sharing specific health info, can spread through a society and change the whole power dynamic.

By being critical and understanding the Marxist structures that try to define us, we can start to find our own "acts of cunning." We can start to decode the messages we're sent every day and navigate this global village as people who are actually awake, not just passive consumers.