Relationship between Cultural Globalization and Imperialism/McDonaldization/Hybridization

Cultural Globalization
Western academics first established the idea of cultural globalization in the late 1980s and later disseminated it widely in the late 1990s and 2000s (Steger and James, 2019 n.p), mainly as a reaction to the claims made by cultural Imperialism of critics in the 1970s and 1980s. Cultural globalization refers to the diffusion of ideas, values, commodities, and meaning expressed worldwide through the daily experience of life (Steger and James, 2019 n.p) leading to the exchange of different cultural traditions amongst different countries. Cultural globalization has had a significant influence on many ideas of economic, social, and political advancement. Tomlinson (2003) notes that globalization has facilitated the distribution and promotion of cultural items in every corner of the world. Notably, cultural globalization has both positive and negative outcomes in the affected societies. In a positive light, globalization facilitates sharing of scientific ideas, innovations, infrastructure, and good cultural values among others in a manner that uplifts living standards and improves the relations among countries. In a negative light, cultural globalization has been described as a form of international aggression characterized by powerful countries spreading ideas and values that threaten the sovereignty of weaker nations. An understanding of cultural globalization requires a critical examination of the relationship between cultural globalization and imperialism/McDonaldization/hybridization given that the three features of globalization have their supporters and opponents alike.
Imperialism
Imperialism refers to the practices where social groups maintain unequal relationships between different cultures and social entities. According to Tomlinson, (1991), imperialism is a generic concept that needs to be assembled out of its discourse. Historically, cultural imperialism practices have been associated with the rise and spread of the Roman Empire. In addition, colonization has been recognized as a product of imperialism. Colonizers relied on their superior education, law, and military force to subjugate the target population and their culture (Tomlinson, 1991, p.5). During the Cold War, the Soviet Union spread its communist ideologies through imperialism. In modern times, the United States has been accused of cultural imperialism by relying upon its brand name products such as iPhones, and established media like Twitter, Hollywood, and Disney.
Notably, it is important to differentiate between cultural imperialism and cultural globalization. In modern times, imperialism seeks to achieve imperial cultural control with the economical goal of creating a demand for goods and services produced in stringer countries such as America. Americanization is said to occur in other cultures due to the excess exportation of services and products of American cultures, such as music, food, clothing, and films. Products like this threaten to replace local products and change other countries' cultural beliefs and ways of life. On the other hand, globalization involves the free exchange of ideas that is largely a process that is largely the interaction of the institutional-technology impetus towards globality with the counteraction force...