Using examples, explain the factors responsible for the global spread of consumer culture.

“National governments cannot control global interactions.” Discuss this statement.

Consumer culture may be described and exemplified as the spread of purchasing habits (branded clothes, fast food, music), or analysed in greater depth as the spread of a capitalist worldview wherein everyday life is commoditized and branded. Multiple traits of consumer culture might be identified, including:

• changing tastes in food (linked with retail and restaurant TNCs)
• fashion (linked with global media corporations)
• music purchasing (linked with online platforms such as iTunes and YouTube).

The key factors that can be explained include:

• the expansion of TNCs in a drive for new markets (may involve glocalization)
• the growth of global media and ICT (operating either as an independent factor or as a byproduct of innovation by TNCs such as Microsoft and Apple)
• the concept of cultural imperialism (linked either to the activities of TNCs or superpower states with “soft power” such as the USA).

Good answers may note that the factors are interrelated and reinforce one another (TNCs drive innovation, for instance). Another approach might examine how different factors might be linked with different aspects/traits of consumer culture (the spread of designer clothes can be related to container shipping and TNCs; the purchasing of online games and music can be related to ICT).

For band C, expect two factors to be described and linked with the spread of culture and/or commodities.

At band D, expect either more detailed explanation of a range of factors linked with the spread of culture/commodities or greater explanation of what is meant by “the spread of consumer culture”.

By band E, expect both aspects to be addressed.

Credit all content in line with the markbands. Credit unexpected approaches wherever relevant.

Management by national government may comprise migration controls, rules for FDI, terms attached to loans and aid, the issues of internet control and censorship. Successes and failure to control may be highlighted either between different countries, or different kinds of global interaction (trade/migration/information flows), or both.

Possible themes include:

• MGOs such as the EU and NAFTA as evidence the statement is correct and countries must now group together in order to try to manage global interactions in ways that reestablish some control [Guide 6]
• cultural globalization as an unstoppable force (or not) and national attempts to control flows of media and information [Guide 5]
• the power of global financial institutions eg IMF and its insistence that national governments institute reforms eg SAPs [Guide 3]
• migration issues and controls [Guide 3, 6, 7]
• government promotion of localism [Guide 7]
• transboundary pollution [Guide 4]
• government attitudes towards foreign direct investment and financial flows [Guide 2]
• military conflicts eg ISIS in the Middle East [current affairs].

Good answers may be structured around different kinds of global interactions (eg contrasts management of economic interactions and cultural globalization in the course of the essay). Another approach might be to discuss the effectiveness of the actions of different types of government (democracies and autocracies).

For band D, expect a structured discussion of how national governments control/cannot control different kinds of global interaction. This should include either a synthesis of several well evidenced themes taken from the subject guide, or nuanced and evidenced
conclusion/evaluation of the statement.

At band E, expect both of these elements.

The best answers explained what was meant by consumer culture, as opposed to “culture” in general. Candidates were often well-versed in geographical terminology and could write with confidence about cultural diffusion and imperialism. In contrast, some candidates produced a “common sense” response that a candidate of any subject might have written. These answers focused on the power of advertising and branding, often at great length. Sometimes, this was sufficient for band C or even D.

This popular question allowed a wide range of themes to be synthesized. The change in the power of national governments was often thoroughly interrogated by the strongest candidates. At the upper end, there was frank acknowledgment that opting out of economic globalization is not a realistic strategy for any leading industrialized nation, but that degrees of control over migration and information flows are still achievable.