Multiculturalism is the existence of multiple cultural traditions within a single country, usually considered in terms of the culture associated with an aboriginal ethnic group and foreigner ethnic groups. This can happen when a jurisdiction is created or expanded by amalgamating areas with two or more different cultures (e.g. French Canada and English Canada) or through immigration from different jurisdictions around the world (e.g. United States, Australia, Canada, Brazil, United Kingdom, New Zealand, and many other countries).
Multicultural ideologies and policies vary widely, ranging from the advocacy of equal respect to the various cultures in a society, to policies of promoting the maintenance of cultural diversity, to policies in which people of various ethnic and religious groups are addressed by the authorities as defined by the group to which they belong.
Multiculturalism that promotes maintaining the distinctiveness of multiple cultures is often contrasted to other settlement policies such as social integration, cultural assimilation and racial segregation. Multiculturalism has been described as a "salad bowl" and "cultural mosaic".
Two different and seemingly inconsistent strategies have developed through different government policies and strategies. The first focuses on interaction and communication between different cultures; this approach is also often known as interculturalism. The second centers on diversity and cultural uniqueness which can sometimes result in intercultural competition over jobs among other things and may lead to ethnic conflict. Cultural isolation can protect the uniqueness of the local culture of a nation or area and also contribute to global cultural diversity. A common aspect of many policies following the second approach is that they avoid presenting any specific ethnic, religious, or cultural community values as central.
- 1 Prevalence
- 1.1 Australia
- 1.2 Argentina
- 1.3 Canada
- 1.4 Europe
- 1.5 India
- 1.6 Indonesia
- 1.7 Japan
- 1.8 Kazakhstan
- 1.9 Malaysia
- 1.10 Mauritius
- 1.11 Mexico
- 1.12 Philippines
- 1.13 Singapore
- 1.14 South Korea
- 1.15 United Arab Emirates
- 1.16 United States
- 2 Support
- 3 Criticism
- 4 See also
- 5 References
- 6 Further reading
- 7 External links
Multiculturalism centers on the thought in political philosophy about the way to respond to cultural and religious differences. It is closely associated with "identity politics," "the politics of difference," and "the politics of recognition." It is also a matter of economic interests and political power. (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Despite the fact that multiculturalism has mainly been used as a term to define disadvantaged groups, including African Americans, members of the LGBT community, and the disabled, many theorists tend to focus their arguments on immigrants who are ethnic and religious minorities, minority nations, and indigenous peoples.
Multiculturalism can refer to a demographic fact, a particular set of philosophical ideas, or a specific orientation by government or institutions toward a diverse population. Most of the debate over multiculturalism centers around whether or not public multiculturalism is the appropriate way to deal with diversity and immigrant integration. Recognition in the context of multicultural education is a demand not just for recognition of aspects of a group's actual culture but also for the history of group subordination and its entire experience.
The term multiculturalism is most often used in reference to Western nation-states, which had seemingly achieved a de facto single national identity during the 18th and/or 19th centuries. Multiculturalism has been official policy in several Western nations since the 1970s, for reasons that varied from country to country, including the fact that many of the great cities of the Western world are increasingly made of a mosaic of cultures.
The Canadian government has often been described as the instigator of multicultural ideology because of its public emphasis on the social importance of immigration. The Can