Difference between revisions of "Multiculturalism"

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(a few ideas)
 
(significant reorganization -- moved some stuff to subpages, added basic "about" stuff, SMW tags)
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This is an exploration of ideas, that would greatly benefit from some hard facts.
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[[thing type::concept]]
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[[category:isms]]
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[[category:concept]]
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[[relates to::society]][[relates to::culture]][[relates to::immigration]]
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==About==
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At its core, [[multiculturalism]] is the idea that people of different [[culture]]s can co-exist peacefully and in close proximity; it favors the idea of preserving different cultures or cultural identities within a unified society<sup>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/multiculturalism]</sup>, rather than requiring immigrants to discard their native customs and adopt local ones.
  
Why does multiculturalism seem to work well in some societies (at least in the sense of being peaceful and orderly, without huge disparities in wealth) while in others places and times things don't go so well?
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Underlying this core is the idea that other cultures are nifty and interesting, rather than being a threat of some sort; this is in opposition to ideas such as [[nationalism]] ("my country is the best country, and people from other countries are therefore inferior"), certain forms of [[patriotism]] ("my country must be defended even when it does bad things") and, in a sense, [[evangelism]] ("my culture's ideas are indisputably so much better than your culture's ideas that I need to convince you to adopt my ideas without listening to yours").
  
== Australia ==
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Multiculturalism is a significant feature of [[liberal]] ideology.
  
A majority of Australians oppose the continuing levels of immigration (which is probably the same as most societies) but governments of both major parties have raised the levels over time, even while using fear of refugees in election campaigns.
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The phrase "[[cultural diversity]]" generally refers to the goal of multiculturalism, i.e. that of preserving individual cultures within a society, regardless of their origin.
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===Mixed Success===
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While some countries such as the [[United States]] have enjoyed great success (at various times and places) with this idea, it has been much more of a problem in other parts of the world. The reasons for this discrepancy remain unclear, but one cause (e.g. in Europe) seems to be political [[/distortion]] of the term's meaning.
  
As a result, Australia has an extremely ethnically diverse society, mainly in the cities, and there are relatively few tensions. The exceptions have been:
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* [[/Australia]]
* Pauline Hanson, who was popular with those who resented newcomers, and even among some immigrants who (now that they had arrived) felt that continual high immigration would reduce the advantages to Australia in population. While it appears that some of her supporters were racist or xenophobic, some were not. It is notable that the Australian Greens also had a policy of reducing immigration (and thus gained preferences from Hanson's One Nation Party in the 2001 Federal election), though the Greens had a very different approach to discussing such issues, and strongly opposed racism, discrimination, and assistance to Australian Aborigines..
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* [[/United Kingdom]]
* Negative attitudes are stronger in rural areas where there are fewer immigrants, than in cities. This suggests that familiarity is a big issue.
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===Differing cultural responses===
* The "race riots" in the beach-side suburb of Cronulla in (2005?). These began with stories of young Middle-Eastern men assaulting a lifeguard, saw large gatherings in Cronulla and racial slogans used by some, and fierce debate in the media, with differing interpretations of events and their significance.
 
* Media stories of ethnic gangs over the years.
 
** Author John Birmingham suggests (in "Leviathan: The Unauthorised Biography of Sydney") that the stories of Vietnamese gangs in the (1980s?) were largely fabricated.
 
** Some segments of the media in the early 2000s (and late 1990s?) reported on Middle-Eastern gangs in Sydney; the state government made comments that seemed to support this idea; others claimed that this was vastly exaggerated and that crime and gang membership rates were not significantly different in these communities. High profile criminal cases, (especially of a gang rape by young Lebanese men, resulting in a 55 year prison sentence for one of the perpetrators), contributed to perceptions. The judge in that case stated the perpetrators had themselves made race an issue by using slurs against "Aussies" (by which they meant white Australians) during their attack. Such high profile cases strongly color public perceptions, but actual statistics and sound analysis would be much more useful in assessing whether there are actually issues related to ethnic/cultural groups.
 
 
 
== United Kingdom ==
 
 
 
The UK has opened its doors to many immigrants from former colonial powers.
 
 
 
Riots by youths from Asia (i.e. from the India subcontinent) in the early 2000s.
 
 
 
 
 
== Differing cultural responses ==
 
  
 
Cultures that value harmony (even if largely in an outward way) seem less likely to respond to perceived immigration in an angry and organized way.  
 
Cultures that value harmony (even if largely in an outward way) seem less likely to respond to perceived immigration in an angry and organized way.  
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;Why have some societies rejected multiculturalism, and is this a valid response?
 
;Why have some societies rejected multiculturalism, and is this a valid response?
Asian societies such as Japan make it extremely difficult for a foreigner to become a citizen - even Koreans who were brought to Japan during WW2, and their children.
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Asian societies such as [[Japan]] make it extremely difficult for a foreigner to become a citizen - even [[Korea]]ns who were brought to Japan during WW2, and their children.
 
 
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[[Category:Society]]
 
[[Category:Culture]]
 
[[Category:Immigration]]
 

Revision as of 22:04, 23 July 2011

About

At its core, multiculturalism is the idea that people of different cultures can co-exist peacefully and in close proximity; it favors the idea of preserving different cultures or cultural identities within a unified society[1], rather than requiring immigrants to discard their native customs and adopt local ones.

Underlying this core is the idea that other cultures are nifty and interesting, rather than being a threat of some sort; this is in opposition to ideas such as nationalism ("my country is the best country, and people from other countries are therefore inferior"), certain forms of patriotism ("my country must be defended even when it does bad things") and, in a sense, evangelism ("my culture's ideas are indisputably so much better than your culture's ideas that I need to convince you to adopt my ideas without listening to yours").

Multiculturalism is a significant feature of liberal ideology.

The phrase "cultural diversity" generally refers to the goal of multiculturalism, i.e. that of preserving individual cultures within a society, regardless of their origin.

Mixed Success

While some countries such as the United States have enjoyed great success (at various times and places) with this idea, it has been much more of a problem in other parts of the world. The reasons for this discrepancy remain unclear, but one cause (e.g. in Europe) seems to be political /distortion of the term's meaning.

Differing cultural responses

Cultures that value harmony (even if largely in an outward way) seem less likely to respond to perceived immigration in an angry and organized way.

Over time immigrants from different waves of immigration tend to become accepted and considered as part of society (assuming there is no civil war or other serious conflict) even to the extent that they will share in negative attitudes towards later waves of immigrants.

Why have some societies rejected multiculturalism, and is this a valid response?

Asian societies such as Japan make it extremely difficult for a foreigner to become a citizen - even Koreans who were brought to Japan during WW2, and their children.