Globalization and imperialism in the context of the interaction of cultures: approaches, opinions, ideas

In the context of the interaction of cultures, it is important to study the interrelations of economic, political, social and cultural processes, which together constitute the global sphere of common interests of countries and peoples of the world. In the first decades of the 21st century, it becomes obvious that globalism does not focus on macroeconomic and geopolitical problems. The calls of UNESCO for the preservation of the world cultural heritage and cultural diversity as resources for the sustainable development of civilization are becoming ever more relevant. In this regard, the question arises: is globalization a natural result of the interaction of cultures or an ideological instrument of the imperial policies of individual subjects of world politics? The author of the article focuses on finding theoretical grounds for distinguishing these two categories. From the neo-Marxist position, globalization is interpreted as an ideological project covering the imperial ambitions of transnational corporations. Therefore, a comparative analysis of various approaches, their classification, synthesis and typology are aimed at describing the essential characteristics of globalization and imperialism as objective phenomena. An analysis of the literature gives grounds to understand globalization as a set of trends in cultural, economic, social and political changes leading to a replacement of the local, territorially closed social organization by a socio-economic organization of a global type. This is a process of world economic, political and cultural integration, accompanied by the unification and diversification of the trends in the socio-cultural development of countries and peoples. Imperialism as an objective, first of all, is a managerial expansive strategy designed for a powerful monopoly in managing global socio-economic and socio-cultural processes with the goal of an uneven distribution of resources in favor of the metropolis and consolidation of the subordinate position of the periphery (countries, peoples, continents). The concepts of “globalization” and “imperialism” in the context of the interaction of cultures cannot be reduced or narrowed down to one another. Globalization as a broader concept includes alternatives that imply an equal agency of peoples and their cultures in the integration global processes.