The development of idea of multiculturalism can be traced into the concepts of cultural pluralism that is important for the formation of philosophical and social humanism to help build a better and more egalitarian society. Although diversity/pluralism is used interchangeably with multiculturalism, they are based on two separate ideals. Diversity generally refers to class, race, ethnicity and socio-economic variables contrast to multicultural ideology relating to specific communities containing multiple ethnicities and cultures. In its simplest definitions, the concept of multiculturalism having its roots in theories of cultural pluralism and diversity, can be defined as a normative response to manage the challenges arising from the ever growing
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My reading of multiculturalism, in sea of literature, is thus based on understanding the basic common concepts used in dealing with the societal reality of cultural diversity. The literature study indicates that all multicultural debates, in a way focuses on achieving the co-existence amidst the cultural differences between different cultural groups and are based upon different levels of human association in different forms of multiculturalism . The overarching goal and vision of this was to maintain the existing and future possible social order through social /public culture which is significant of collectively shared public sphere. Due to the varying nature of differences and the responses that different forms of multiculturalism invoke, the approach to achieving collective culture has been conceptualized differently. Since culture is defined, among many other definitions, as 'the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes one group or category of people from another (Geert, 2001), the cultural difference can be characterized by the attributes of culture that implies to "a collective, not an individual attribute, not directly visible but manifested in behaviors, and common to some, but not all people (Ibid)". The difference between cultures are essentially located in its …show more content…
Situating itself on the core liberal values based on individual freedom, autonomy and equality, it inherently denies the existence of mediating cultural groups as a part of social whole. This cultural difference is something disturbing to the cultural homogeneity and the unity of majority culture. So here, dealing with cultural difference is by removing it. Its idea of 'collective culture' is based upon the ideology that individual is prior to the community, and that the value of social goods can be reduced to their contribution to individual well-being. So it emphasizes on mutual responsibilities of the individuals and merging of groups and their traditions within a society that endorses a single common cultural core and cultural
My reading of multiculturalism, in sea of literature, is thus based on understanding the basic common concepts used in dealing with the societal reality of cultural diversity. The literature study indicates that all multicultural debates, in a way focuses on achieving the co-existence amidst the cultural differences between different cultural groups and are based upon different levels of human association in different forms of multiculturalism . The overarching goal and vision of this was to maintain the existing and future possible social order through social /public culture which is significant of collectively shared public sphere. Due to the varying nature of differences and the responses that different forms of multiculturalism invoke, the approach to achieving collective culture has been conceptualized differently. Since culture is defined, among many other definitions, as 'the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes one group or category of people from another (Geert, 2001), the cultural difference can be characterized by the attributes of culture that implies to "a collective, not an individual attribute, not directly visible but manifested in behaviors, and common to some, but not all people (Ibid)". The difference between cultures are essentially located in its …show more content…
Situating itself on the core liberal values based on individual freedom, autonomy and equality, it inherently denies the existence of mediating cultural groups as a part of social whole. This cultural difference is something disturbing to the cultural homogeneity and the unity of majority culture. So here, dealing with cultural difference is by removing it. Its idea of 'collective culture' is based upon the ideology that individual is prior to the community, and that the value of social goods can be reduced to their contribution to individual well-being. So it emphasizes on mutual responsibilities of the individuals and merging of groups and their traditions within a society that endorses a single common cultural core and cultural