The Marginalization of Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism "constructs a binary relation between 'ethnic communities' and 'Australian society,' as if the two were mutually exclusive, homogenous entities. " It "pigeonholes 'the migrant' as permanently marginalized, forever ethnicised. " (p. 153 Stratton and Ang in O'Regan, T. Critical Multiculturalism). Do you agree with this view of multiculturalism? What are the effects of this binary relation on those who are marginalized? Who benefits? How might the problem be solved? Discuss with reference to one or two issues considered in the course.

The processes of othering and tolerance are evidently evoked through a policy of multiculturalism which may be identified as having a destructive effect on 'ethnic communities' as they are consequently marginalized by a dominant Australian society.

Through a detailing of Australian society in relation to the construction of a national identity as primarily Anglo-Celtic it can be seen that such ethnic groups are subordinate to the dominance of Anglos in the past as well as in contemporary society.

This may be seen to consequently construct a binary between 'ethnic groups' and 'Australian society' and subsequently segregates the migrant from being incorporated within such a society, while positing such migrants as marginalized.

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The result of multiculturalism can be seen to clearly benefit the Anglo majority while subsequently negatively typecasting 'ethnic communities' which permanently marginalizes and 'pigeonholes' the migrant and indicates that they are permanently fixed within such a category.

As a society colonized by the British, Australia has consequently been constructed as a homogenous locality consisting primarily of Anglo-Celtics. Through the formation of Australia it may be identified as a society unwilling to accept diversity which may obviously be seen through the exclusion and extinguishing of Aboriginals.

Australia became a nation in 1901 and one of the very first acts of parliament that was enacted was the Immigration Restriction Act in 1901, which is commonly known as the White Australian policy.

This act was devised in order to prohibit the immigration of 'non-Europeans' or 'colored races' and the only immigrants that were sanctioned to reach Australian shores where those of British descent. Stratton writes: The White Australian policy was, in the first instance, a nationalistic policy and reflects the new nation-state's search for a national identity in a European culture and a British-based racial homogeneity (which inevitably implies the exclusion of racial/cultural Others). (1994, 141)

Through this period, Australia was constructed as a racist society that promoted the idea of a racially pure 'national identity' which was strictly based on Anglo-Saxon emigrants and subsequently excluded those of non-British descent. However, after World War II Australia was consequently placed in a vulnerable economic position and a viable solution to such a problem was the endorsement of mass immigration. The probability of such migration from the desired British states seemed doubtful so the Australian Government consequently turned to the people of Northern and Southern Europe.

Such a shift meant that the White Australian policy was neglected and consequently the Australian Government enacted the Assimilationist policy until the mid 1960's. "The policy of assimilation... was an extension of the white Australian policy" (Hage, 1998, 82) in that this policy was enacted as to not disrupt the apparent homogeny within Australian society as all migrants were influenced by the government to reject the cultural traditions of their homeland and to embrace and become part of the 'Australian way of life'.

Hage writes that the assimilation policy: "Explicitly required non-British migrants to adopt the language, the culture and the values that are part of this heritage and to relinquish the distinct cultural practices and attitudes of their home countries" (1998, 82). Such migration evidently collapsed the concept of a racially pure and unified nation and symbolized the next stage of government policy which was the movement toward multiculturalism, which came to fruition in the mid 1970's. Castles writes: Mass immigration works against ideas of national unity...

the disintegration of a unitary ideology of the nation is epitomized in the move from official state policies of assimilation of culturally different 'others' to a multiculturalism which respects their differences. (1990, 102-103) While previous Australian policies such as assimilation and integration have been based on the premise that the immigrant will actively become part of a unitary 'white' Australian culture, multiculturalism alternatively advocated the ability for migrants to maintain their cultural heritage and position these within an Australian context.

Ultimately, the policy of multiculturalism is seen as a critical moment which shifted an Australian national identity from British influences, as such influences have been fundamental to the construction and development of government policies in Australia's past. In Race Daze, Jon Stratton articulates the consequent dilemmas with the notion of multiculturalism, particularly in relation to the problematic way in which multiculturalism is constructed through an Anglo Celtic culture which marginalizes 'ethnic cultures' and also the idea that multiculturalism promotes the notion of culture as stable and fixed (1998, 206).

Stratton writes: "It is the core culture which is privileged while the marginal, ethnic cultures are formulated as 'objectified spectacles' for the members of the core culture" (1998, 209). The 'core culture', being that of predominantly Anglo-Celtic origin is empowered through multiculturalism who is advantaged by objectifying the 'ethnic cultures'. A subsequent problem is the issue of 'ethnicity' which Walters and Crook write: One of the most common terms used to describe an ethnic group is minority group.

This implies not only that the ethnic group is often though not always, in a numerical minority but also that it is in some way subordinate to a dominant or majority group. (1993, 215) Through the notion of an 'ethnic' group as often referred to as a minority it may be seen how multiculturalism has in fact constructed a binary between the minority and the dominant group who are predominantly Anglo Celtic and who are seen to represent Australian society, a society that is based on the exclusion of such groups by producing 'ethnics' marginalization within it.