Multiculturalism in Canada
Toleration, Appeasement; Equality, Harmony.
Pol-1020
The topic of “multiculturalism,” has been a hotly debated issue since the end of the colonizing era. In their endeavor to find the best policy for multiculturalism, different countries opted for different options. States that chose to integrate cultural minorities into their mainstream society had to find the solution that would provide the most equality among citizens; a solution that would later translate into national solidarity and social cohesion. While some countries have strived to assimilate cultural minorities, others have attempted to “turn a blind eye” and tolerate them. Multiculturalism for me means to aid the integration of minorities into the mainstream society by granting them group-specific cultural rights. Providing group-specific rights would mean providing equality for all citizens by making up for the minority’s reduced status they succumbed when integrating into society. This paper will contrast and compare the different forms of multiculturalism policies and will ultimately prove that creating citizen equality by granting group-specific rights to deserving cultural groups is the fairest and most rewarding approach to dealing with multiculturalism.
During colonialism, conquering powers made many mistakes in their attempts to deal with the aboriginals of their conquered lands. As Kymlicka (2002) declares, the colonialists’ first instinct was to either banish the indigenous people into isolated reserves or force them to abandon their culture and be assimilated into the new Western culture. The colonialists’ rationale was that if the aboriginals became citizens, they would incorporate themselves into the Western culture by gaining equal rights and would assume a common identity with all citizens. Although this sounds like a well justified argument, when explored in depth, it is easily realized that solely
Pol-1020
The topic of “multiculturalism,” has been a hotly debated issue since the end of the colonizing era. In their endeavor to find the best policy for multiculturalism, different countries opted for different options. States that chose to integrate cultural minorities into their mainstream society had to find the solution that would provide the most equality among citizens; a solution that would later translate into national solidarity and social cohesion. While some countries have strived to assimilate cultural minorities, others have attempted to “turn a blind eye” and tolerate them. Multiculturalism for me means to aid the integration of minorities into the mainstream society by granting them group-specific cultural rights. Providing group-specific rights would mean providing equality for all citizens by making up for the minority’s reduced status they succumbed when integrating into society. This paper will contrast and compare the different forms of multiculturalism policies and will ultimately prove that creating citizen equality by granting group-specific rights to deserving cultural groups is the fairest and most rewarding approach to dealing with multiculturalism.
During colonialism, conquering powers made many mistakes in their attempts to deal with the aboriginals of their conquered lands. As Kymlicka (2002) declares, the colonialists’ first instinct was to either banish the indigenous people into isolated reserves or force them to abandon their culture and be assimilated into the new Western culture. The colonialists’ rationale was that if the aboriginals became citizens, they would incorporate themselves into the Western culture by gaining equal rights and would assume a common identity with all citizens. Although this sounds like a well justified argument, when explored in depth, it is easily realized that solely
Bibliography: Kymlicka, Will (2002). Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction, Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Mookherjee, Monica in Catriona McKinnon (2008). Issues in Political Theory: Multiculturalism. New York: Oxford University Press. Okin, Susan Moller (1999). Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women?. Princeton: Princeton University Press.