Has Multiculturalism Failed in the UK - Research Paper Example

HAS MULTICULTURALISM FAILED IN THE UNITED KIGNDOM? Introduction The current wave of globalisation has meant that people travel and live in different parts of the world for social, political and economic reasons. In this case, many large cities of the world often have people from different places and cultures interacting freely, which they carry on with their various functions. This development has seen people share and exchange different ideas and concepts that they have not been previously exposed to. The interactions of people across the world have seen the development of the idea of multiculturalism, because of people from different parts of the world, meeting and interacting on various grounds. Multiculturalism Multiculturalism refers to cultural diversity, which is facilitated by communities existing in a certain society, as well as the policies and regulations that enhance this diversity. When takes a descriptive terminology, multiculturalism describes the simple fact of the concept of cultural diversity, as well as the respective demographic composition of the specific place, which can at times be at the level of an organisation like a learning institutions, business, city or nation. When taken in the prescriptive context, multiculturalism can be taken to describe the policies and ideologies that enhance this kind of diversity or its institutions. In this context, it becomes evident that multiculturalism is a kind of society that is comfortable with the rich and diverse aspects of people’s lives and the actual desire of the people to articulate their identity in the best way they seem fit. It is important to understand that policies and ideologies in the multicultural context differ widely from one group of people to another. This often ranges from the actual advocacy relating to equal respect all the way to the different cultures within the society; it also involves the policies that promote the maintenance of the cultural diversity. Another important aspect of multiculturalism refers to the policies and regulations through which people of different religions and ethnic backgrounds are effectively addresses by the rules and regulation that are defined by respective groups that they belong. Two major differences and seemingly inconsistent approaches and strategies through various government strategies and policies have emerged. The first is that they focus on the interactions and communications between among the various cultures in existence. Interactions of people from different cultures offer opportunities for the diverse cultural differences for reasons of communications and interactions in order to establish the concept of multiculturalism. In this case, the particular approach can also be described as interculturalism, referring to the interactions of various cultures. The second one is based on the diversity and uniqueness in the various cultures represented. Cultural isolation plays a big role in the protection of the peculiarity of local cultures of the group of nations; in this case, the process influences the international and global cultural multiplicity. Multiculturalism in the United Kingdom In many instances, multiculturalism can be described as an important normative framework, as well as group of policies set by the state that advances tolerance, while advocating for the recognition of various cultural differences among different people. The United Kingdom has on many occasion adopted an approach of race relations in advancing the issue of equality. In this country, multiculturalism was long adopted as an important and appropriate framework for working with the different cultural groups in the country. In the United Kingdom, multiculturalism has been regarded as a significant term in the country’s political discourse for the many past decades. During the time of New Labour’s government, Parekh (2000), in one of his popular and largely cited reports on the actual future of the multi-ethnic Britain confirmed this concept of Britishness. In his explanation , he pointed out that Britishness is a kind of plural identity, which esteems and celebrates the differences existing in various communities represented in Britain. However, in comparison to other European countries, Britain has witnessed a “backlash” that has arisen against its cultural differences (Grillo 2007, 984; Vertovec & Wessendorf 2010, 56). In the recent past, the emergences of right-wing parties like BNP, the rising stringency of controls in the immigration department as well as the introduction of tests for citizenship and various ceremonies effectively illustrates this trend. Many people can agree to the fact that in the recent past, there has been a change in the political discourse of Britain, shifting from the multicultural concept to aspects of social cohesion. Additionally, the country has been shifting from the idea of celebrating these differences to that of affirming the shared values. This changing paradigm started after the racial tensions that happened in 2001 in the northern part of England. According to (Chrysochoou, X. 2004, 34), the tensions were brought about because of the absence of social cohesion. In this case, it paved way for the less multicultural regulations and policies, as well as the increasing and rising uneasiness concerning the expected segregations of the minority communities (McGhee 2005, 38). Changing stance on multiculturalism In 2011, David Cameroon, the, Prime Minister in the United Kingdom pointed out that according to the doctrine of the country’s state multiculturalism, the country has actively encouraged various cultures to live and carry on with separate lives, different from each other, as well as far from the mainstream. The prime minister pointed out that the country had failed deliberately in providing proper vision for the society in which they are expected to belong. He points out that the country has shown tolerance to many of these segregated societies that behave in ways that seem to be contrary to the values that the hold as a country. Additionally, public support for the concept of multiculturalism in many western countries seems to be moderate or quite low (Verkuyten 2007, 281). In Britain, as well as in other Western countries, this development where countries have seemed to backtrack on this issue is referred to as “retreat of multiculturalism” (Joppke 2004, 246), in some cases where the concept has been done away with completely, it is referred to as “death of multiculturalism” (Kundnani 2002, 67). While this has been an issue of great debate across many countries including Britain and Europe (Meer & Modood 2009, 481; Modood 2011, 37), a universal master narrative exists in the academic researches and discussions over the rise, success as well as the fall of the concept of multiculturalism in many countries (Kymlicka 2010, 99). How Britain has benefited from multiculturalism Despite of the changing and declining multiculturalism values in the United Kingdom, the country has had many benefits from the concept in the past. It is important to point out that in the past, Britain has been a highly multicultural society. In this case, whether the multiculturalism involved co-habitation between Anglo-Saxons, Celts as well as the Vikings that lived more than one thousand years or to the modern time practices where many nations and language groups exist in the UK, the country remains highly multicultural. A research conducted on the number of people and cultures represented in the UK indicated that more than 270 nationalities with more than 300 languages exist in London, the capital of the UK. A section of the people have shown open disregard to the concept of multiculturalism, claiming that it damages and destroys the original society, weakening its social cohesion. This view cannot be pushed away from the truth; however, the cosmopolitan nature of the UK has in many ways made it stable, strong and prosperous in various ways. Economic development Currently, London can be viewed as the world’s Babel, this is because, approximately one third of the people that live in London come from other countries. Many people have claimed that this multiplicity of people from different parts of the world have played a big role in the growth and development of the country’s economy. These populations have been essential in the development of trade (Moghaddam, 65). Many companies and business organizations have been developed in order to provide and fulfill the diverse need of all these people. These business organizations have been essential in the growth and development of the economy of UK. Business that have been established in London and other cities of the UK have shown open preference for hiring immigrant workers, citing various advantages, first, they claim that immigrant workers are essential in the identification and exploitation of business opportunities in other countries. Their perfect knowledge of the cultures from their home countries is essential in the internationalization process of these business organizations. This has seen many companies expanding to other parts of the world, after having been developed in the UK like Wm Morrison, which is a retail company that deals in various kinds of merchandise in London and other parts of the world that it has reached. Additionally, hiring immigrant workers in business organizations plays a big role in helping the business increase its innovativeness and creativity in the design and development of products and services. These workers often come to the business with different experiences and training, which when blended makes the business establish the much-needed competitiveness and market position. The diversity in management and decision making process is often enhanced by the business’ ability to incorporate the ideas and concepts of the immigrant workers. Increase in Foreign Direct Investments Across many countries as well as the UK in particular, it has become evident that in their process of economic growth and development, FDI is often great from countries, which have a large representation in the country receiving the investment. In this case, it is evident that many positive benefits are often accrued to countries that have a large number of a multicultural society. In this case, it has been evident that the United Kingdom has benefited immensely from the fact that it has been home to many people across the world. To this effect, London and many other famous cities in the UK have grown because of the increase in foreign direct investments by countries that have been largely represented in these cities. Most of these countries have established many companies and other business organizations that have continued to shape the social and economic phase of the United Kingdom. Besides increase in foreign direct investment, people living multicultural societies with various perspectives and traditions often develop easy methods of communication; they often end up exchanging ideas and concepts. This has made the United Kingdom to have diverse cultures and an environment that values and appreciates all kinds of people. Many cities in the UK has had a diversity in terms of the ideas and concepts that people have brought from the backgrounds. Having people that share different ideas and concepts is always important because it makes people see the world in different perspectives. This is important in the social and economic development because different ideas can be merged to produce various kinds innovations and inventions to enhance this development. If the world was to have people that spoke the same language, shared the same culture and other perspectives, then it would be pretty difficult for people to advance in various ways. In this case, the whole world would be in some kind of a dull conformism. Diversity is often important because it enables people blend ideas and perspectives, which are essential in getting various approaches to development in the social, economic and political angles. Peace and stability A multicultural society is critical in the development of peace of stability in the city or country. In countries that have created policies that do not encourage multiculturalism, they often end up showing racism to people that come into this places from other parts of the world. This has been the exact case in places like Iran, where most of the cities in these country have a great majority of their inhabitants being the natives of that country. On the other hand, the UK, being a multicultural society, many cultures have been represented by people that have moved from different countries to settle here. For this reason, the country has low incidences of racism and discrimination against various groups of people from other places. Additionally, the UK has benefited from long spells of peace and stability after the end of the World Wars. In most cosmopolitan societies, people often interact freely irrespective of their particular backgrounds in terms of colour, religion, race among other factors, which are all important aspects of life. It is important to realize that the world we live in is a society that comprises of different people from different places. In this case, it is important that we create systems that can accommodate all people. In this case, the shared idea and concepts are essential in the development of our societies in the social, political and economic dimension (Phillips 28). The case of London provides a good case upon which other countries can imitate and learn from. On the other hand, many people have come out to question whether multiculturalism as practiced initially in the development of the UK is still being held with the same Many people have pointed out that multiculturalism has not necessarily faded in the UK, they point to a case where many Britons are still interacting with other people. Various incidences have been reported where intermarriages are still taking places between the British and different people from other parts of the world. In as much as Britain has shifted from multiculturalism to prefer some aspects of social seclusion (Valsiner & Rosa 36), many incidences still exist where the country has shown and continues to accommodate people from other cultures of the world. Conclusion From the different discussions that have been running in world politics and various media, it seems evident that multiculturalism seems to have failed. This perspective has been developed by the ever-increasing cases of hostilities being perpetuated on minority groups in different parts of the world. Additionally, various incidences have been evident in different cities across the world, with racism and other forms of discrimination. All these developments point to the fact that some countries have been showing preference for social seclusions as opposed to multiculturalism. From the foregone discussion, the perspectives of David Cameroon, the British premier, UK has been trying to follow this trend, point out that social seclusion is important in the creation and preservation of the social fabric, which preserves the culture of the natives in Britain (Vertovec 2007, 63). In this case, the countries have not necessarily disowned multiculturalism, in the sense that it continues to encourage interaction between its people and others around the world. In this case, the benefits that the country has developed because of multiculturalism cannot be overlooked. This is the reason why the country contuse to developed policies and strategies that encourage multiculturalism and other related concepts. Bibliography Chrysochoou, X. 2004. Cultural Diversity: Its Social Psychology, Blackwell, Oxford. Grillo, R. 2007. “An excess of alterity? Debating difference in a multicultural society” Ethnic and Racial Studies Vol 6, No, 30, 979-998. Joppke, C. 2004. “The retreat of multiculturalism in the liberal state: theory and policy” British Journal of Sociology. Vol 2, No.55, 237-257. Kundnami, A. 2002. “The death of multiculturalism.” Race & Class, Vol 43. No. 5, 67-72 Kymlicka, W. 2010. “The rise and fall of multiculturalism? New debates on inclusion and accommodation in diverse societies” International Social Science Journal, Vol 199, No 3, 97-112 McGhee, D. 2005. Intolerant Britain? Hate, Citizenship and Difference. 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