Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ethnic or cultural pluralism in which various ethnic and cultural groups exist in a single society. It can describe a mixed ethnic community area where multiple cultural traditions exist or a single country. Groups associated with an indigenous, aboriginal or autochthonous ethnic group and settler-descended ethnic groups are often the focus.
In reference to sociology, multiculturalism is the end-state of either a natural or artificial process, such as legally controlled immigration, and occurs on either a large national scale or on a smaller scale within a nation's communities. On a smaller scale, this can occur artificially when a jurisdiction is established or expanded by amalgamating areas with two or more different cultures. On a large scale, it can occur as a result of either legal or illegal migration to and from different jurisdictions around the world.
In reference to political science, multiculturalism can be defined as a state's capacity to effectively and efficiently deal with cultural plurality within its sovereign borders. Multiculturalism as a political philosophy involves ideologies and policies which vary widely. It has been described as a "salad bowl" and as a cultural mosaic, in contrast to a melting pot, or cultural amalgamation.
History
Prevalence of multiculturalism over time
According to migration researcher Hein de Haas, it is a myth that current societies are more diverse than ever. The idea that 21st century society is in his view exceptionally diverse is based on a distorted image of past societies, in which historical diversity is often overlooked. Historical waves of migration have led to levels of diversity that were at least as great. European countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the Netherlands have long-standing diverse societies due to colonial migration, labor migration, and flows of refugees.Scholars such as Ibrahim Menek suggest that states that embody multicultural ideals have existed since ancient times. The Achaemenid Empire founded by Cyrus the Great followed a policy of incorporating and tolerating various cultures.
Europe has historically known great diversity in terms of ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups, far outnumbering the number of nation-states. Local and regional identities were strong, with each region and town having its own dialect, customs, and traditions. From the 16th century larger nation states were formed. This process gained momentum after the French Revolution and consolidated in the 19th century.
The Habsburg monarchy, which existed from 1282 to 1918, stood in contrast to the emerging trend of nation-state formation in Europe. It encompassed a mosaic of languages, religions, and regional identities, resisting the centralizing and homogenizing tendencies that characterized nation-state development elsewhere. Issues such as social and cultural differentiation, multilingualism, competing identity offers or multiple cultural identities were already shaping the scientific theories of many thinkers of this multi-ethnic empire.
Especially since the 19th century societies in Europe and North America have become culturally more homogeneous due to the consolidation of the nation-state. Governments promoted national identities through education, conscription, and the standardization of languages. In France, for instance, the promotion of French led to the decline of regional languages such as Breton and Occitan. Likewise, in Western Europe, the use of many local dialects decreased. In addition, the rigid religious divides in Western countries softened due to the declining influence of organized religion and the advance of secularization. This pattern repeated itself elsewhere in Europe and North America, where national unification was accompanied by cultural homogenization.
In the 19th century, millions of people from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds migrated to the United States and Europe, in search of better economic opportunities or to escape persecution. The U.S. was a melting pot of groups such as Irish, Italian, Chinese, German, and Jewish immigrants, who were often initially perceived as threats to the national identity. At the beginning of the 20th century, 14.7% of the U.S. population were immigrants, about the same as at the start of the 21st century.
Nationalism further accelerated cultural homogenization in the 20th century. For example after World War I, much of the former ethnic diversity in the area of the former Habsburg monarchy disappeared. Under the influence of nationalist ideologies, ethnic minorities were disadvantaged, forced to emigrate or even murdered in most regions in the area of the former Habsburg monarchy due to the prevailing nationalism at the time. In many areas, these ethnic mosaics no longer exist in the 21st century. The ethnic mix of that time can only be experienced in a few areas, such as in the former Habsburg port city of Trieste.
Globalization has further reduced cultural differences. The emergence of an increasingly global youth culture in the 1920s, which accelerated significantly from the 1950s onward, made it easier for young people around the world to find shared reference points in food, music, film, literature, and other forms of artistic expression. International travel and the rise of television and the internet promoted the development of both national and international culture. The spread of English as a global language, Hollywood films, and the universal availability of fast-food chains such as McDonald's are all signs of a world becoming increasingly culturally homogeneous. Although urban areas tend to show greater ethnic diversity, the variation between regions and countries has declined, which is often seen as a loss of cultural diversity.
Homogenization is taking place worldwide in the 21st century, with the decline of minority languages a major indicator of this trend. It has been estimated that every two weeks a language ceases to be spoken along with its last speaker.
Multiculturalism in modern government policy
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 Canadian Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism is often referred to as the origins of modern political awareness of multiculturalism. Canada has provided provisions to the French-speaking majority of Quebec, whereby they function as an autonomous community with special rights to govern the members of their community, as well as establish French as one of the official languages. In the Western English-speaking countries, multiculturalism as an official national policy started in Canada in 1971, followed by Australia in 1973 where it is maintained today. Recently, right-of-center governments in several European Union states – notably the Netherlands and Denmark – have reversed the national policy and returned to an official monoculturalism. A similar reversal is the subject of debate in the United Kingdom, among others, due to evidence of incipient segregation and anxieties over "home-grown" terrorism. Several heads-of-state or heads-of-government have expressed doubts about the success of multicultural policies: The United Kingdom's ex-Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Australia's ex-prime minister John Howard, Spanish ex-prime minister José María Aznar and French ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy have voiced concerns about the effectiveness of their multicultural policies for integrating immigrants.
Many nation-states in Africa, Asia, and the Americas are culturally diverse and are 'multicultural' in a descriptive sense. In some, ethnic communalism is a major political issue. The policies adopted by these states often have parallels with multiculturalist policies in the Western world, but the historical background is different, and the goal may be a mono-cultural or mono-ethnic nation-building – for instance in the Malaysian government's attempt to create a 'Malaysian race' by 2020.
Impact
According to migration researcher Hein de Haas, research anno 2023 shows that there is no systematic relationship between levels of immigration or ethnic diversity and social cohesion or trust. Studies show that factors such as economic inequality and trust in government are much more important for social cohesion than diversity. In countries and regions where income inequality is low and where people trust their government, social cohesion remains strong even with high levels of diversity. Canada and Australia, for example, are countries with high levels of immigration and diversity, but also with stable and well-functioning societies. On the other hand, hate speech toward minority groups by politicians can reduce social cohesion. So diversity as such does not undermine social cohesion, hate speech by politicians does.In a study concluded in 2007, Harvard University professor of political science Robert D. Putnam conducted a nearly decade-long study on how multiculturalism affects social trust. He surveyed 26,200 people in 40 American communities, finding that when the data were adjusted for class, income and other factors, the more racially diverse a community is, the greater the loss of trust. People in diverse communities "don't trust the local mayor, they don't trust the local paper, they don't trust other people and they don't trust institutions," writes Putnam. In the presence of such ethnic diversity, Putnam maintains that, "e hunker down. We act like turtles. The effect of diversity is worse than had been imagined. And it's not just that we don't trust people who are not like us. In diverse communities, we don't trust people who do not look like us". Putnam has also stated, however, that "this allergy to diversity tends to diminish and to go away... I think in the long run we'll all be better." Putnam denied allegations he was arguing against diversity in society and contended that his paper had been "twisted" to make a case against race-conscious admissions to universities. He asserted that his "extensive research and experience confirm the substantial benefits of diversity, including racial and ethnic diversity, to our society."
In a 2003 book On Genetic Interests, Ethnologist Frank Salter writes:
Relatively homogeneous societies invest more in public goods, indicating a higher level of public altruism. For example, the degree of ethnic homogeneity correlates with the government's share of gross domestic product as well as the average wealth of citizens. Case studies of the United States, Africa and South-East Asia find that multi-ethnic societies are less charitable and less able to cooperate to develop public infrastructure. Moscow beggars receive more gifts from fellow ethnics than from other ethnies. A recent multi-city study of municipal spending on public goods in the United States found that ethnically or racially diverse cities spend a smaller portion of their budgets and less per capita on public services than do the more homogeneous cities.
Research psychologist Kenan Malik has criticized the views of Frank Salter, arguing that the main issue with Salter’s argument is not so much the politically sensitive aspects, but rather the points he shares with broader debates on the evolution of ethnocentrism and identity politics. Malik argues that Salter pays insufficient attention to historical context. In Salter’s view group differences are portrayed as a constant and universal feature of human nature. Malik argues that this approach can lead to a distorted interpretation of empirical data. Malik also criticized the theory of ethnic nepotism, and argued that the field studies of favoritism shown to beggars of the benefactor's ethnic group are best explained by cultural factors.
While there is research that suggests that ethnic diversity increases chances of war, lower public goods provision and decreases democratization, there is also research that shows that ethnic diversity in itself is not detrimental to peace, public goods provision or democracy. Rather, it was found that promoting diversity actually helps in advancing disadvantaged students. A 2018 study in the American Political Science Review cast doubts on findings that ethnoracial homogeneity led to greater public goods provision. A 2015 study in the American Journal of Sociology challenged past research showing that racial diversity adversely affected trust.
Racial and ethnic labels can have a significant impact: non-minorities primed to think of themselves as White were subsequently less in favor of multiculturalism and were more racially prejudiced. This was due to decreases in identification with ethnic minorities.
In multicultural societies the first-past-the-post voting system can increase ethnic conflict compared to proportional representation. Multicultural societies with identity politics can result in elections mirroring the identity or ethnic headcount, incentivizing demographic engineering. Electoral engineering to prevent ethnic conflict in multicultural societies was found ineffective.