Canada: The Ideal Pluralist Society

Paper Summary:

This paper addresses the controversial issue of culture in Canada. The paper shows how some say Canada has no culture and that it is too concerned with other cultures to bother with one national identity. Others say that the mix of different ethnicity is Canadian culture, that the nation is the sum of its parts. There is as much debate over multicultural policies, and the paper breaks these down into three areas: There are those who say policies don't do enough to include minorities, who believe they are working fine, and those who think they do far too much.

From the Paper:

"The article gives a brief history of Canada's multicultural laws and how they came into existence. The most recent amendment to these laws came under Brian Mulroney and his Canadian Multiculturalism Act of 1988. The Act obligated "all federal departments and agencies to implement multiculturalism as it applies to their mandates." This was a big step in recognizing the pluralistic society that is Canada. The author of the article, Andrew Cardozo, then begins to investigate the reactions of people to these laws. He writes of those who think Canada does not do enough to incorporate different cultures into the predominantly English society. Of these people, Cardozo seems to have a negative opinion. A self-proclaimed advocate of the multiculturalism laws, he writes about minority activists who constantly dwell on the negative instead of recognizing the achievements in the area. Cardozo belongs to what he would call the middle group, those who believe the laws to be working fine as they are. His article goes so far as to outline the number of advances made in the field of multiculturalism. These include a fairer portrayal of minorities in the media, better inclusion of minorities in advertising, and more involvement of minorities in politics. These may be points for Cardozo's argument, but they are also facts that support the belief of the third group. The third grouping of people one can study are those who believe multiculturalism has gone too far and that we have "lost the meaning of being "Canadian"." So much talk about the subject has created a social backlash, and to many talking about multiculturalism is now perceived as the "politically correct" thing to do. This is, of course, now a derogatory term."

More papers on Canada: The Ideal Pluralist Society:

• Term Paper # 107158 : "The Dead Poets Society"
• Term Paper # 96578 : "The Dead Poets' Society"
• Analytical Essay # 127097 : "Frame Analysis of "The McDonaldization of Society"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: