> Local culture doesn't exist to satisfy some "market" or as a sort of collectathon for well-off travelers seeking novelty through fake "authentic culture", it's about the way of life of sppecific people living in specific areas.
When local dishes are displaced by international dishes it's normally because the international dishes taste nicer (adjusted for cost etc.). If the locals wanted to preserve the cuisine for their own sake they would do so.
"Tasting nice" is not an objective rubric.
Re:The Age of Average
by lotsofpulp on Friday December 13, 2024 @12:30PM
(#42410498)
The whole claim would be “tastes nicer to a greater proportion of people”.
People's tastes aren't innate and static. They're a function of trends, marketing, and importantly, availability.
and comfort and familiarity. I can easily imagine tourists in a foreign land preferring McDonald's or generic fast food when they can't/don't/won't make up their minds about what to eat. It's entirely possible for people to basically "vacation wrong" and many do it.
Re:The Age of Average
by ElevenLathe on Friday December 13, 2024 @11:02AM
(#42409741)
Agreed. Traditional cultures are downstream of traditional political economies. Globalization was always going to homogenize culture and hey look that's what's happening.
That's like saying that the billions of people on the planet are mostly worthless because you're not going to meet every single one of them.
Local culture doesn't exist to satisfy some "market" or as a sort of collectathon for well-off travelers seeking novelty through fake "authentic culture", it's about the way of life of sppecific people living in specific areas.