A Study on Martin Luther King Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

A Study on Martin Luther King - Essay Example Martin Luther King combined leadership, activism and clerical duties in his life time. He had a pivotal role in the civil rights progress, in United States, and globally. He advanced his civil rights crusade through nonviolence as mentored by Mohandas Gandhi. Martin Luther King is a national icon in modern American history because of his leadership style, policy and strategic thinking. In his activities, he advanced principles of strategy. His historical significance goes beyond his civil rights crusade or clerical work. He represented black leadership absent at the time in America. During this period, black leaders whether accommodative or reformists had minimum influence on power. These black leaders acted as power brokers for the white leaders or as spokesmen; they never expressed or acted on their own. However, Martin Luther King had his leadership rested on religious establishments that went beyond the church to a constituency that tagged him because of his strategy and ideology . He differed from the times, conventional leaders because of his independence from political machinery and institutional constraints. He addressed broader issues than race and the racial injustices (Barber, 2011, p. 52). Martin Luther King exemplified talented and strategic thinking, and leadership on both a national and international scale. In all his actions, he carefully advanced his strategic principles, and they all paid off. Growing Up and Early Influence Martin Luther King, born on 15th January 1929, grew up in Atlanta Georgia. The son of Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Williams King, he had a younger brother and an elder sister. King devoted much of his time in the church choir, where he sang with the choir during the opening of the movie Gone with the Wind. During his early age, king had intelligence and the will to question. He did not believe in things easily without getting all the information required to make a conclusion (Kavaloski, & Kavaloski, 2011, p. 25). Most striking was his skepticism of the resurrection of Jesus at the age of 13. He afterwards noted the inescapable truths in the Bible. This led him to join the seminary at a tender age. He attended Booker T Washington High School, but as a precocious student, he jumped ninth and twelfth grade. He joined the Morehouse College where he graduated with a Degree in sociology. During his seminarian years, King’s educator and theologian Howard Thurman immensely influenced his life. Thurman crucially mentored him as seen by their closeness. The success of Mahatma Gandhi nonviolent resistance inspired King to nonviolence in the movement. He had a commitment to the American civil rights struggle. The oppression that the minority faced played a significant role as well in influencing his thinking. The rich and wealthy had all the powers to do anything they wanted while oppressing the poor. King observed that using nonviolence offered him a strategy to push for the oppressed human dignity a nd justice, and also fight for their civil rights (Barber, 2011, p. 53). King’s society was plagued by racial discrimination, segregation and poverty. He disliked the society’s social state and decided to fight for their justice. The society’s inequality also pushed him to study sociology and theology because he wanted to help socially (Carson, 2005, p. 8). Achievements, Challenges and Great Moments In his lifetime, Martin Luther King had many achievements. He secured the progress of civil rights in U.S, and before his assassination the U.S Congress passed the

International Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Studies - Essay Example The aforementioned was accomplished through various practices such as increase in cultivated areas, land productivity, and input per capita labor. Agriculture was the main economic activity in the region with Chinese people adopting the use traditional fertilizers, variety of crops, irrigation, and multiple cropping in order to increase production. Heavy yields experienced in these farms had an imperative role in the country’s GDP. Some of the popular crops grown in the region included maize, potatoes, peanuts, tobacco, and sugar cane among others (Das, 2006). Apart from farming, many Chinese households practiced other labor-intensive economic practices such as raising fish ponds, and utilization of grass and biomass to produce fuel. Therefore, rural households mainly focused on industrial activities while activities such as weaving, making garments, and textile spinning formed part of household activities. According to research, over a quarter of China’s GDP was derived from trade, construction, transport, traditional handicrafts, and housing. On the other hand, mass production of cash crops such as sugar, tobacco, tea, and cotton had a significant effect on the rise of China’s GDP. Therefore, the increase in China’s GDP exhibited before 1820 was attributed to agricultural activities within the region that resulted into creation of employment, increase in income and wealth, and economic growth (Angus, 2007). On the other hand, some research studies associate the increase in GDP with the documentation and planned Chinese technology on Chinese science and civilization on Needham’s magnum opus. However, the aforementioned ideology does not analyze the economic effect of invention and agricultural development. One of the major contributors in the improvement of Chinese GDP was increased land productivity that resulted into advanced living standards as income and wealth increased, proportionally. The

Forecasting Presidential Election Essay Example for Free

Forecasting Presidential Election Essay The economy of the United States is believed to be experiencing a â€Å"recession†, creating a global effect on the economies of other nations. The Democratic Party of the United States has several essential arguments when dealing with the national economy. For instance, Democrats largely believe in the principle of graduated tax incomes which focus on the belief that those who have higher earnings should pay more taxes and, conversely, the poor people should pay less tax. Barak Obama has stronger chances of winning the 2008 Presidential Elections over Hillary Clinton when taking the matter of national economy as the central basis. Clinton’s strong urge for a ‘universal healthcare’ will not take her any further in the presidential elections for several reasons. On the basis of the national economy, Clinton cannot expect every single American to avail themselves of healthcare, especially among the poor population. Although Clinton may strongly support affordable universal healthcare, it is by far an idealistic goal precisely because sustained payments for a healthcare provider is still beyond the reach of the pockets of many Americans. Moreover, the establishment of a universal healthcare system for Americans cannot be managed single-handedly by an already-busy government. That is the part where private companies offering healthcare services enter the subject. Unfortunately, Fran Baum suggests that â€Å"the privatization of health services† has effectively â€Å"reduced access to healthcare for poorer people† inasmuch as it has also â€Å"reduced the likelihood of universal health services that offer equitable access to health services† . The fact that the resources of America are limited and that these resources should be properly allocated means that a large chunk of the national budget spent on a universal healthcare alone would create an economic imbalance, an event which is not within the top priorities of democrats. Obama’s plan with regard to the national economy, on the other hand, zeroes in giving tax reliefs to the middle class Americans. Obama’s plans to give tax reliefs of approximately $1,000 for middle class Americans is based on the observation that wages have remained significantly stagnant while the steady rises in the prices of commodities have eaten a large part of the budget of Americans. By trimming the taxes of middle class Americans which comprise the larger fraction of the nation, Obama expects that middle class will be given more purchasing power which in turn will translate to a revitalized economy. Although â€Å"the U. S. federal tax system is in reality a hybrid of an income and consumption tax, with some elements that do not fit naturally into either system† , Obama’s proposal makes it clear that every working family will be awarded tax reliefs whether or not they consume or spend too much, or they have a higher income in contrast to families of similar financial status. The fact that the U. S. federal tax system is a hybrid system suggests that a tax cut on healthcare may not easily meet its goals. To surpass the challenge of determining which part of healthcare—the ‘income’ part of the ‘consumption’ part—is to be deducted with tax is to surmount a hefty task. An analysis of the status of the national economy of America and its peripheries is just one approach in determining or predicting the outcome of the impending presidential elections. Apparently, technology also shares an equally important role in this national event, among others. Exit and public polls Frederic Solop maintains that the internet â€Å"has recently become an important part of the democratic process† . The fact that America is one of the top countries in the world which has the most number of people who are connected to the internet makes the country more susceptible to the changes in the online industry. The online industry has also been equally strong in influencing the media, and as we know if it, the broadcasting media has its own role in forecasting the presidential elections. Exit polls are being used by several media networks such as CNN and Fox New Network as basis for their elections forecast. Since these television networks have a broad range of reach, it is not a farfetched idea that the observations derived by these networks from the exit polls contribute to the ways in which the voters are able to decide on their presidential candidate. Exit polls are essentially public polls and this fact essentially gives the impression that the behavior of public opinion based on these exit polls is as close to the results of the presidential race as it can get. Of course, there are a number of exceptional cases such as the margin of error, usually at about 4 percent plus or minus, which can overturn the forecasted results assuming the difference in the rankings of the candidates are close to 2 to 4 percent. Add up to the forecasting use of exit polls the role of the media in actually transmitting these polls across the nation. The Fox News Network previously included in its broadcast of the polling results in the different parts of America prior to â€Å"Super Tuesday† a partition of the various factors that led to the polling results. For instance, the analysis on the exit polls released by Fox News included a subdivision of the voting preferences which the network later used to arrive at certain observations such as how blacks voted in favor of either Clinton or Obama, or as to how women preferred Clinton over Obama and vice versa. Fox News also had forecasts on the presidential elections based on public opinion which includes but is not limited to: the effects of Bill Clinton’s attitude towards the media in relation to Hillary’s performance in the election race, how the public views the gender and racial issues being infused into the elections, and the perception of the public concerning the personal attacks of the Clinton and Obama camps to one another. All of these things and a lot more have effects on the voting preference of the public. Public opinions by any media network transmitted via the internet or through live broadcast are just some of the ways in forecasting the presidential elections. Bellwether states Bellwether states have become the center of attention of political analysts who cast their forecasts on the presidential elections. Although the states of Missouri, Nevada, Tennessee, Ohio and Delaware have produces different outcomes in the national elections, these states have merely missed quite a few instances of these electoral outcomes. It is for this reason that the belief in these Bellwether States as probable indicators of the next American President have remained since the early twentieth century. With regard to the Clinton-Obama presidential campaign, it can be said that these Bellwether States pose a certain bearing on the outcome of the elections. If either one of the two democratic candidates are able to win in these states, it can be considered that they may have already won the presidential elections. Yet this may simply be not the case, as the certainties of the current presidential race are yet to be seen. If one is to delimit the considerations for presidency in terms of these states, then it can also be argued that the democratic winner in these Bellwether States has a higher chance of succeeding in the elections. However, the performance of Obama and Clinton in the various polls and the widely divided expert opinion on their presidential campaigns draws more and more uncertainties. If indeed the larger streams of factors are to be considered, the Bellwether States have very minimal bearing on the outcome of the presidential elections. In fact, these states have a disparity in terms of the outcome of the national elections. While Obama and Clinton won two of these five states each, with the remaining to be decided sometime this February, it appears that there are further uncertainties that remain to be resolved in the coming days. Expert opinion In terms of expert opinion, it would be no surprise to have a division among these opinions because it is quite difficult to share personal views even when based on facts without having an inclination to infuse certain ideologies which border on the side of either Obama or Clinton. Expert’s opinions nevertheless do hold certain grounds, and the weight of their merit resides more or less on the experiences and background of the ‘expert’. Political experts who both argue against and argue with the democrats, and with or against either Obama or Clinton, have credibility in their insights largely because of what they have contributed to American politics, especially in forecasting the presidential elections. As for the Obama-Clinton presidential campaigns, these experts are equally divided as well.The only similarity that one may see among them is their fervent desire to draw their forecasts on the elections. Bibliography Baum, Fran. Primary Healthcare: Can the Dream Be Revived? Development in Practice 13, no. 5 (2003): 517. Gordon, Roger, Laura Kalambokidis, Jeffrey Rohaly, and Joel Slemrod. Toward a Consumption Tax, and Beyond. The American Economic Review 94, no. 2 (2004): 161. Solop, Frederic I. Digital Democracy Comes of Age: Internet Voting and the 2000 Arizona Democratic Primary Election. Political Science and Politics 34, no. 2 (2001): 289.

Reviewing The Film Version Of Brokeback Mountain Film Studies Essay

Reviewing The Film Version Of Brokeback Mountain Film Studies Essay This essay will aim to compare the film version of Brokeback Mountain with Annie Proulxs short story. It will explain, discuss as well as evaluate the ways in which Ang Lee represented key themes and ideas through-out the film. Many themes and ideas were dealt with in the film, some of which will be looked at such as, relationships, love, desire and the gothic. Ang Lee was able to express Jack and Enniss masculinity through their physical features, the jobs that they undertook, as well as through their clothing, throughout the movie. The two men were seen to be working on the land, doing strenuous physical labour and played out the masculine roles in society. In both the movie and the short story Jack and Ennis relationship with nature was masculine in the way that they spent a great deal of time in the open countryside at work. Their relationship with the land strengthened through the depiction of their love making on Brokeback Mountain which showed their deep connection and confidence with their surroundings. Even though the men were portrayed as masculine figures throughout both the film and the story, there was also a very prominent shift in the gender roles, as Jack and Ennis both alternated between the traditional roles of male female. Central to Proulxs thinking is not only the subjectivity of people shaped by geographical constrain ts, limits and opportunities, but also that the social worlds produced reveal personal narratives of engagement which often question determined social roles.  [1]  It could be argued that the short story was wholly about the love of two men for each other and how this impacted on the lives they were expected to lead. However the movie focused more on their home life and domestic roles, such as Ennis failing to provide and care for his children. The short story only briefly mentioned Ennis family life. In the movie, there was great insight into the mens married life whereas in the book there is not much emphasis on this. This would have helped the viewer to delve more deeply into their personal lives and therefore have a better understanding of them. The women in the film version of Brokeback Mountain were more visible, referred to more and had a significantly active role in the story in relation to Jack and Ennis. The viewer was able to see life from the womens points of view and into the hardships of their lives. Whereas in the short story they were merely portrayed as obstacles that stopped Jack and Ennis from pursuing their romantic relationship. It could be argued that Ang Lee did not want women to merely be on the margin in this film, he probably wanted to bring the women to the foreground of the story since conventional relationships are between men and women, unlike Proulx whose version was more closely focused around the relationship between Jack and Ennis. In both versions the women were powerless to affect what was going on, especially after they eventually discovered that Jack and Ennis were more than just friends. There was nothing that they could do, as they were unable to effectively influence the situation in thei r favour,. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and the door opening and Alma looking out for a few seconds at Enniss straining shouldersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.She had seen what she had seen.  [2]  In addition, this story was set at a time when women were seen to be more dominant in the private domestic sphere, therefore they seemed to be naÃÆ' ¯ve of about the goings on in the outside world and perhaps did not have a loud enough voice to stand up to men. One of the main themes in Ang Lees film version of Brokeback Mountain was the added dimension of nature and the surroundings of the west in which the film was set. Proulx references to the landscape to set the scenes were very descriptive throughout the story. The mountain boiled with demonic energy, glazed with flickering broken-cloud light; the wind combed the grass and drew from the damaged krummholz and slit rock a bestial drone.  [3]  The amazing awe-inspiring shots of the landscape in Ang Lees movie, gave a new dimension to the film as the shots of nature became just as much a part of the film as the story line. The beauty of the shots nearly as important as dialogue  [4]  The impact that nature had on people who already felt comfortable in the open country were given more depth and significance. Spending time together on Brokeback Mountain was like a retreat or a safe haven from society in which Jack and Ennis would have been judged because of the nature of their relationship. Whilst on Brokeback Mountain the emphasis on nature meant that they felt free and at peace away from society and were able to be themselves without the risk of being ridiculed or judged. The image of the dead sheep on the mountain, in the film, acted as a metaphor for the idea that even though the men felt safe and free on the mountain they were still vulnerable in the eyes of society. The main themes that ran through the film were that of love, relationships and desire. There were great similarities in the short story and the movie in the ways in which the characters related to each other, their emotion and concern. The way that Jack was so caring towards Ennis, was expressed perfectly through both mediums. The way their relationship was portrayed was so painful as they could never be together was shown in different ways in both the short story and the movie. They have to privatise their feelings  [5]  . The original dialogue from the story added another dimension to Ang Lees film. As a lot of the time the characters whispered or spoke in a quiet manner, it gives the impression that what they were saying was not to be shared with others. The scene in the movie where Ennis became hysterical after Jacks departure from Brokeback Mountain, was very much more heartfelt and emotional than in the short story, within a mile Ennis felt like someone was pulling his guts out  [6]  . The emotion was not felt whilst reading the book, it was better conveyed in the movie. The reason for this may have been as a result of the musical soundtrack and the close up camera shots which showed Ennis as totally distraught. This was apparent also near the end of the film by the lines, I wish I knew how to quit you'  [7]  , which were spoken, the tone and volume of which this short line was spoken displayed the pain that Ennis and Jack were enduring by being apart. In addition, in the final scene at Jacks house with the two shirts, one inside the other; the scene was portrayed better visually than in the book due to the impact that the music had over the scene, which was not achieved in the short story. However, it the words used in the short story were powerful in their simplicity. The shirt seemed heavy until he saw there was another inside ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the pair like two skins, one inside the other, two in one.  [8]  On a literal level this scene added shaped to the story, as the story ended where it started, both with dreams, both with shirts. Both the movie and the short story expressed key elements of the gothic. Two of the most prominent elements were violence and mystery. Proulxs short story had an ambiguous ending in which the reader was unsure of how Jack died and who killed him. His family and Ennis were left wondering if it was an accident or if it was on purpose as a result of someone finding out about his secret relationship with Ennis. The ending was left for the viewer to decide and to use their imagination as to who killed Jack and how he was killed, quite like a murder mystery. Not only did I want to be loyal to [Proulxs] writing, but I needed to do additional scenes to confirm her writing, because we dont have the internal depictions which she did most brilliantly.  [9]  This was true consistently throughout the film. There were many sections in the film that did not appear in the story, such as the argument between Jack and his father-in-law on Thanksgiving, and the scenes where Jack went to Mexico to explore his sexuality and the greater depth and insight into their family lives and the people closest to them. Scenes even appeared in a different order. However things that were missing from the film were filled with extended scenes that were also not in the short story. These extended scenes gave the viewer a greater insight into the lives of Jack and Ennis as well as those that they interacted with. Futhermore in the movie Ang Lee used flashbacks as well as clips which gave the viewer a greater insight into the unknown, and to things that were below the surface of the characters initial thoughts. The viewer always had the fuller picture drawn out for them, which was pieced together by the actual storyline. This was present in the way that Ang Lee used a flashback to show how Ennis father showed him what happened to a man who lived with another male however this was not presented in the same way in the short story. The movie was quite direct and visual and the story had a definitive ending and the audience knew exactly what happened to Jack even if the other characters in film did not. The use of the movie as a visual aid meant that there was more freedom in the idea of the gothic with the gruesome scenes of the man who was castrated as well as the murder of Jack. The book ended as it stated that the love felt by Ennis was endured, but it was only an end to the physical but not emotional love. It was as if the story still continued beyond the text, and would continue to do so as long as society failed to move on. There was some open space between what he knew and what he tried to believe, but nothing could be done about it, and if you cant fix it youve got to stand it.  [10]   The long silences and deep stares that were exchanged between Jack and Ennis throughout the film expressed their unspoken love, this was more effectively displayed in the film than the short story. Because of their stoic characters, the story has much to do with what is unspoken, with the shame and guilt that fills them  [11]  This made the film a lot more powerful than the story as a result of these silences. narrative detail is echoed by Ang Lee cinematically. The beauty and purity of the emotions is matched by the rustic majesty of the landscape; in reducing the story to a universe of simplicity of scenery and emotion, Lee was trying to create a new depth for a love story.  [12]  As a result of the shame and guilt that would have been forced upon them whilst in society Brokeback Mountain gave them a sense of freedom to do things that would not have been acceptable in society at the time. Ang Lee tells us that the focus on emotion cannot be articulated in words, and employs the imagined iconic solitude of the cowboy  [13]  The use of camera shots such as panning and close ups helped to covey the emotion through the screen to the viewer, this therefore enabled the viewer to have a better emotional connection with the characters. One of the main adaptations that Ang Lee made to the film version of Brokeback Mountain was his selection of his cast, especially the main characters. Whereas in the short story Jack and Ennis were not described as overly good looking men, however Ang Lees cast did not portray this.

Mans best friend Essay -- essays research papers fc

Man’s Best Friend   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Who do you consider your best friend? Is it the person you grew up with? Is it your husband or wife? For many it is someone that is always they’re for them when sad or lonely, or when one needs to talk, cry, or laugh. However, thousands of Americans are turning to their dogs for a favorite companion. This paper will explore the enduring phrase â€Å"Man’s Best Friend† and the loyalty, faithfulness, intelligence, and companionship shared by dogs and masters that make this statement true.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some might ask, why would anyone consider a dog their best friend? For many dog owners the answer would be loyalty. In a story from the Christian Science Monitor author William H. Carlile wrote, â€Å"There is a hero on West Eunice Street just outside the suburb of Tucson: a two-year-old female English Springer Spaniel named Brandy. She is credited by law-enforcement officials with attacking and chasing off an intruder last year at the home of her owners, Jerry and Kendal Plank, despite having been shot five times by a 9mm semiautomatic machine gun.†(11) This story is an excellent example of the loyalty a dog can acquire towards its masters, to be able to protect and even save lives. Loyalty is a very common trait given to dogs by their owners. Many of those who talk of the loyalty their dogs have for them will also have an incredible story to back up their beliefs. In an article in The Australian, an experienced hunter fell into a ravine and was unable to get out. He was there for five days before rescuers found him; they reported that temperatures fell below freezing at night and it rained three of the five night’s (007). His dog Bee, was able to get out of the ravine but decided to stay with his masters. Searcher Brent Keightley said, â€Å"If it wasn’t for the dog, Des wouldn’t have survived.† The article tells of how the dog slept with him to keep him warm during the freezing nights (007). This story not only demonstrates loyalty but also the faithfulness that a dog and master often share.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Man’s Best Friend† is often considered a household phrase. Many people think of the loyalty of a dog when they here this saying, but for some it is also the loyalty of the owner and the friendship that builds between them. For an old baseball coach of mine it is not only a household s... ... seem to provide pure enjoyment and entertainment through their intelligence and friendliness. This statement, â€Å"Man’s Best Friend†, will continue to prove itself true for years to come, with new exciting and fun stories for everyone to enjoy. Works Cited Bankston, John. â€Å"Augusta, Ga., Bakery Caters to Man’s Best Friend.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Augusta Chronicle 23 Nov. 2001 Carlile, William H. â€Å"’Man’s Best Friend’ is also Lifesaving Hero and Protector.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Christian Science Monitor 23 Oct. 1997, Vol. 89 Issue 230, p11, 1c Hadnot, Ira J. â€Å"Man’s Best Friend Understands Us Better than We Think, Researcher   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Suggests.† Dallas Morning News 8 Sep. 2000 Mosley, Ray. â€Å"For Our Best Friends, a New French Perfume That Smells Like Puppies.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chicago Tribune 22 Dec. 2000 N. A. â€Å"Courtroom ‘Eulogy for a Dog’ was Phrase’s Origin, Exhibit says With FEA-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Man’s Best Friend-Eulogy.† AP Worldstream 15 May. 2001 N.A. â€Å"This Man’s Best Friend Kept Him Alive for Five Days.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Australian 15 Aug. 2001 ed.: 1. Section: World, pg. 007

Sir Gawain - An Ideal Symbol of Chivalry Essay -- Sir Gawain and the G

Sir Gawain - An Ideal Symbol of Chivalry The chivalric code is a very complex, and perhaps somewhat foreign concept to a modern person. There are many rules and taboos that a knight must obey. Indeed, the very concepts of honor, love, and humility have been raised to the highest conceivable power, making it almost impossible for a mortal to become a true, perfect knight. Sir Gawain, in the passage [Norton, 1535-1622] of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, proves himself to be an ideal symbol of chivalry. One of the symbols of knighthood is a lady of knight's heart; knight's behavior with ladies is important in general, and Sir Gawain behaves as a true knight with the hostess of the castle. Another important side of being a knight includes the skill of carving an animal, and that is also described in the passage. One aspect of being a knight is choosing a lady of his heart. The knight is supposed to perform noble tasks in her honor, thus glorifying her name. Love is knight's inspiration for all of his actions, and when he thinks he has done enough glorious deeds, he comes back to his lady. If his lady is kind enough, she will marry him, unless she is already married. In the passage, the host's wife tries to seduce Sir Gawain. However, she is not the lady of his dreams, and since Sir Gawain follows the principle -- "to remember a knight is to reflect goodness in everything he does, for that is what makes a knight honorable, " he politely turns her offer down. It is possible that Sir Gawain refuses hostess' charms because he is afraid of her husband; however, with the whole story evolving around Sir Gawain's nobility, it is highly unlikely that this is a reason for him. Sir Gawain does this in a way that does not make the ... ... are riveting in their strict observance. The chivalric code is full of rules for the knight's conduct in any situation, one example of which is hunting and carving animals. There is, however, one central idea that every knight is a servant; a knight is the one who does only good in the name of love and never brings dishonor to anyone. In this second test, Sir Gawain proves to be a true knight when he is tempted by the hostess of the Green Castle. So far nothing can turn him from his path, for he is a true knight. SOURCES Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H.Abrams, et.al. Volume 1. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1993. 200-254. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Ed. J.R.R.Tolkien, E.V. Gordon. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1967. Online. Internet. Available HTTP: http://www.hti.umich.edu/english/mideng/index.html

Minority Group and Multiculturalism Essay

Ideas about the legal and political accommodation of ethnic diversity — commonly termed â€Å"multiculturalism† — emerged in the West as a vehicle for replacing older forms of ethnic and racial hierarchy with new relations of democratic citizenship. Despite substantial evidence that these policies are making progress toward that goal, a chorus of political leaders has declared them a failure and heralded the death of multiculturalism. This popular master narrative is problematic because it mischaracterizes the nature of the experiments in multiculturalism that have been undertaken, exaggerates the extent to which they have been abandoned, and misidentifies not only the genuine difficulties and limitations they have encountered but the options for addressing these problems. Talk about the retreat from multiculturalism has obscured the fact that a form of multicultural integration remains a live option for Western democracies. This report challenges four powerful myths about multiculturalism. First, it disputes the caricature of multiculturalism as the uncritical celebration of diversity at the expense of addressing grave societal problems such as unemployment and social isolation. Instead it offers an account of multiculturalism as the pursuit of new relations of democratic citizenship, inspired and constrained by human-rights ideals. Second, it contests the idea that multiculturalism has been in wholesale retreat, and offers instead evidence that multiculturalism policies (MCPs) have persisted, and have even grown stronger, over the past ten years. Third, it challenges the idea that multiculturalism has failed, and offers instead evidence that MCPs have had positive effects. Fourth, it disputes the idea that the spread of civic integration policies has displaced multiculturalism or rendered it obsolete. The report instead offers evidence that MCPs are fully consistent with certain forms of civic integration policies, and that indeed the combination of multiculturalism with an â€Å"enabling† form of civic integration is both normatively desirable and empirically effective in at least some cases. To help address these issues, this paper draws upon the Multiculturalism Policy Index. This index 1) identifies eight concrete policy areas where liberal-democratic states — faced with a choice — decided to develop more multicultural forms of citizenship in relation to immigrant groups and 2) measures the extent to which countries have espoused some or all of these policies over time. While there have been some high-profile cases of retreat from MCPs, such as the Netherlands, the general pattern from 1980 to 2010 has been one of modest strengthening. Ironically, some countries that have been vociferous about multiculturalism’s â€Å"failure† (e. g. , Germany) have not actually practiced an active multicultural strategy. Talk about the retreat from multiculturalism has obscured the fact that a form of multicultural integration remains a live option for Western democracies. However, not all attempts to adopt new models of multicultural citizenship have taken root or succeeded in achieving their intended effects. There are several factors that can either facilitate or impede the successful implementation of multiculturalism: Multiculturalism: Success, Failure, and the Future 1 MIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE Desecuritization of ethnic relations. Multiculturalism works best if relations between the state and minorities are seen as an issue of social policy, not as an issue of state security. If the state perceives immigrants to be a security threat (such as Arabs and Muslims after 9/11), support for multiculturalism will drop and the space for minorities to even voice multicultural claims will diminish. Human rights. Support for multiculturalism rests on the assumption that there is a shared commitment to human rights across ethnic and religious lines. If states perceive certain groups as unable or unwilling to respect human-rights norms, they are unlikely to accord them multicultural rights or resources. Much of the backlash against multiculturalism is fundamentally driven by anxieties about Muslims, in particular, and their perceived unwillingness to embrace liberal-democratic norms. Border control. Multiculturalism is more controversial when citizens fear they lack control over their borders — for instance when countries are faced with large numbers (or unexpected surges) of unauthorized immigrants or asylum seekers — than when citizens feel the borders are secure. Diversity of immigrant groups. Multiculturalism works best when it is genuinely multicultural — that is, when immigrants come from many source countries rather than coming overwhelmingly from just one (which is more likely to lead to polarized relations with the majority). Economic contributions. Support for multiculturalism depends on the perception that immigrants are holding up their end of the bargain and making a good-faith effort to contribute to society — particularly economically. When these facilitating conditions are present, multiculturalism can be seen as a low-risk option, and indeed seems to have worked well in such cases. Multiculturalism tends to lose support in high-risk situations where immigrants are seen as predominantly illegal, as potential carriers of illiberal practices or movements, or as net burdens on the welfare state. However, one could argue that rejecting immigrant multiculturalism under these circumstances is in fact the higher-risk move. It is precisely when immigrants are perceived as illegitimate, illiberal, and burdensome that multiculturalism may be most needed. I. Introduction Ideas about the legal and political accommodation of ethnic diversity have been in a state of flux around the world for the past 40 years. One hears much about the â€Å"rise and fall of multiculturalism. † Indeed, this has become a kind of master narrative, widely invoked by scholars, journalists, and policymakers alike to explain the evolution of contemporary debates about diversity. Although people disagree about what comes after multiculturalism, there is a surprising consensus that we are in a post-multicultural era. This report contends that this master narrative obscures as much as it reveals, and that we need an alternative framework for thinking about the choices we face. Multiculturalism’s successes and failures, as well as its level of public acceptance, have depended on the nature of the issues at stake and the countries involved, and we need to understand these variations if we are to identify a more sustainable model for accommodating diversity. This paper will argue that the master narrative 1) mischaracterizes the nature of the experiments in multiculturalism that have been undertaken, 2) exaggerates the extent to which they have been abandoned, and 3) misidentifies the genuine difficulties and limitations they have encountered and the options for addressing these problems. 2 Multiculturalism: Success, Failure, and the Future MIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE Before we can decide whether to celebrate or lament the fall of multiculturalism, we need first to make sure we know what multiculturalism has meant both in theory and in practice, where it has succeeded or failed to meet its objectives, and under what conditions it is likely to thrive in the future. The Rise and Fall of Multiculturalism The master narrative of the â€Å"rise and fall of multiculturalism† helpfully captures important features of our current debates. Yet in some respects it is misleading, and may obscure the real challenges and opportunities we face. In its simplest form, the master narrative goes like this:1 Since the mid-1990s †¦ we have seen a backlash and retreat from multiculturalism. From the 1970s to mid-1990s, there was a clear trend across Western democracies toward the increased recognition and accommodation of diversity through a range of multiculturalism policies (MCPs) and minority rights. These policies were endorsed both at the domestic level in some states and by international organizations, and involved a rejection of earlier ideas of unitary and homogeneous nationhood. Since the mid-1990s, however, we have seen a backlash and retreat from multiculturalism, and a reassertion of ideas of nation building, common values and identity, and unitary citizenship — even a call for the â€Å"return of assimilation. † This retreat is partly driven by fears among the majority group that the accommodation of diversity has â€Å"gone too far† and is threatening their way of life. This fear often expresses itself in the rise of nativist and populist right-wing political movements, such as the Danish People’s Party, defending old ideas of â€Å"Denmark for the Danish. † But the retreat also reflects a belief among the center-left that multiculturalism has failed to help the intended beneficiaries — namely, minorities themselves — because it has failed to address the underlying sources of their social, economic, and political exclusion and may have unintentionally contributed to their social isolation. As a result, even the center-left political movements that initially championed multiculturalism, such as the social democratic parties in Europe, have backed 1 For influential academic statements of this â€Å"rise and fall† narrative, claiming that it applies across the Western democracies, see Rogers Brubaker, â€Å"The Return of Assimilation? † Ethnic and Racial Studies 24, no. 4 (2001): 531–48; and Christian Joppke, â€Å"The Retreat of Multiculturalism in the Liberal State: Theory and Policy,† British Journal of Sociology 55, no. 2 (2004): 237–57. There are also many accounts of the â€Å"decline,† â€Å"retreat,† or â€Å"crisis† of multiculturalism in particular countries. For the Netherlands, see Han Entzinger, â€Å"The Rise and Fall of Multiculturalism in the Netherlands,† in Toward Assimilation and Citizenship: Immigrants in Liberal Nation-States, eds. Christian Joppke and Ewa Morawska (London: Palgrave, 2003) and Ruud Koopmans, â€Å"Trade-Offs between Equality and Difference: The Crisis of Dutch Multiculturalism in Cross-National Perspective† (Brief, Danish Institute for International Studies, Copenhagen, December 2006). For Britain, see Randall Hansen, â€Å"Diversity, Integration and the Turn from Multiculturalism in the United Kingdom,† in Belonging? Diversity, Recognition and Shared Citizenship in Canada, eds. Keith G. Banting, Thomas J. Courchene, and F. Leslie Seidle (Montreal: Institute for Research on Public Policy, 2007); Les Back, Michael Keith, Azra Khan, Kalbir Shukra, and John Solomos, â€Å"New Labour’s White Heart: Politics, Multiculturalism and the Return of Assimilation,† Political Quarterly 73, No. 4 (2002): 445–54; Steven Vertovec, â€Å"Towards post-multiculturalism? Changing communities, conditions and contexts of diversity,† International Social Science Journal 61 (2010): 83–95. For Australia, see Ien Ang and John Stratton, â€Å"Multiculturalism in Crisis: The New Politics of Race and National Identity in Australia,† in On Not Speaking Chinese: Living Between Asia and the West, ed. I. Ang (London: Routledge, 2001). For Canada, see Lloyd Wong, Joseph Garcea, and Anna Kirova, An Analysis of the ‘Anti- and Post-Multiculturalism’ Discourses: The Fragmentation Position (Alberta: Prairie Centre for Excellence in Research on Immigration and Integration, 2005), http://pmc.metropolis. Net/Virtual%20Library/FinalReports/Post-multi%20FINAL%20REPORT%20for%20PCERII%20_2_. pdf. For a good overview of the backlash discourse in various countries, see Steven Vertovec and Susan Wessendorf, eds. , The Multiculturalism Backlash: European Discourses, Policies and Practices (London: Routledge, 2010). Multiculturalism: Success, Failure, and the Future 3 MIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE away from it and shifted to a discourse that emphasizes â€Å"civic integration,† â€Å"social cohesion,† â€Å"common values,† and â€Å"shared citizenship. †2 The social-democratic discourse of civic integration differs from the radical-right discourse in emphasizing the need to develop a more inclusive national identity and to fight racism and discrimination, but it nonetheless distances itself from the rhetoric and policies of multiculturalism. The term postmulticulturalism has often been invoked to signal this new approach, which seeks to overcome the limits of a naive or misguided multiculturalism while avoiding the oppressive reassertion of homogenizing nationalist ideologies. 3 II. What Is Multiculturalism? A. Misleading Model In much of the post-multiculturalist literature, multiculturalism is characterized as a feel-good celebration of ethnocultural diversity, encouraging citizens to acknowledge and embrace the panoply of customs, traditions, music, and cuisine that exist in a multiethnic society. Yasmin Alibhai-Brown calls this the â€Å"3S† model of multiculturalism in Britain — saris, samosas, and steeldrums. 4. Multiculturalism takes these familiar cultural markers of ethnic groups — clothing, cuisine, and music — and treats them as authentic practices to be preserved by their members and safely consumed by others. Under the banner of multiculturalism they are taught in school, performed in festivals, displayed in media and museums, and so on. This celebratory model of multiculturalism has been the focus of many critiques, including the following: It ignores issues of economic and political inequality. Even if all Britons come to enjoy Jamaican steeldrum music or Indian samosas, this would do nothing to address the real problems facing Caribbean and South Asian communities in Britain — problems of unemployment, poor educational outcomes, residential segregation, poor English language skills, and political marginalization. These economic and political issues cannot be solved simply by celebrating cultural differences. Even with respect to the (legitimate) goal of promoting greater understanding of cultural differences, the focus on celebrating â€Å"authentic† cultural practices that are â€Å"unique† to each group is potentially dangerous. First, not all customs that may be traditionally practiced within a particular group are worthy of being celebrated, or even of being legally tolerated, such as forced marriage. To avoid stirring up controversy, there’s a tendency to choose as the focus of multicultural celebrations safely inoffensive practices — such as cuisine or music — that can be enjoyably consumed by members of the larger society. But this runs the opposite risk 2. For an overview of the attitudes of European social democratic parties to these issues, see Rene Cuperus, Karl Duffek, and Johannes Kandel, eds. , The Challenge of Diversity: European Social Democracy Facing Migration, Integration and Multiculturalism (Innsbruck: Studien Verlag, 2003). For references to â€Å"post-multiculturalism† by progressive intellectuals, who distinguish it from the radical right’s â€Å"antimulticulturalism,† see, regarding the United Kingdom, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, After Multiculturalism (London: Foreign Policy Centre, 2000), and â€Å"Beyond Multiculturalism,† Canadian Diversity/Diversite Canadienne 3, no. 2 (2004): 51–4; regarding Australia, James Jupp, From White Australia to Woomera: The Story of Australian Immigration, 2nd edition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007); and regarding the United States, Desmond King, The Liberty of Strangers: Making the American Nation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), and David A. Hollinger, Post-ethnic America: Beyond Multiculturalism, revised edition (New York: Basic Books, 2006). Alibhai-Brown, After Multiculturalism. 3 4 4 Multiculturalism: Success, Failure, and the Future MIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE of the trivialization or Disneyfication of cultural differences,5 ignoring the real challenges that differences in cultural and religious values can raise. Third, the 3S model of multiculturalism can encourage a conception of groups as hermetically sealed and static, each reproducing its own distinct practices. Multiculturalism may be intended to encourage people to share their customs, but the assumption that each group has its own distinctive customs ignores processes of cultural adaptation, mixing, and melange, as well as emerging cultural commonalities, thereby potentially reinforcing perceptions of minorities as eternally â€Å"other. † This in turn can lead to the strengthening of prejudice and stereotyping, and more generally to the polarization of ethnic relations. Fourth, this model can end up reinforcing power inequalities and cultural restrictions within minority groups. In deciding which traditions are â€Å"authentic,† and how to interpret and display them, the state generally consults the traditional elites within the group — typically older males — while ignoring the way these traditional practices (and traditional elites) are often challenged by internal reformers, who have different views about how, say, a â€Å"good Muslim† should act. It can therefore imprison people in â€Å"cultural scripts† that they are not allowed to question or dispute. According to post-multiculturalists, the growing recognition of these flaws underlies the retreat from multiculturalism and signals the search for new models of citizenship that emphasize 1) political participation and economic opportunities over the symbolic politics of cultural recognition, 2) human rights and individual freedom over respect for cultural traditions, 3) the building of inclusive national identities over the recognition of ancestral cultural identities, and 4) cultural change and cultural mixing over the reification of static cultural differences. This narrative about the rise and fall of 3S multiculturalism will no doubt be familiar to many readers. In my view, however, it is inaccurate. Not only is it a caricature of the reality of multiculturalism as it has developed over the past 40 years in the Western democracies, but it is a distraction from the real issues that we need to face. The 3S model captures something important about natural human tendencies to simplify ethnic differences, and about the logic of global capitalism to sell cosmopolitan cultural products, but it does not capture the nature of post-1960s government MCPs, which have had more complex historical sources and political goals. B. Multiculturalism in Context It is important to put multiculturalism in its historical context. In one sense, it is as old as humanity — different cultures have always found ways of coexisting, and respect for diversity was a familiar feature of many historic empires, such as the Ottoman Empire. But the sort of multiculturalism that is said to have had a â€Å"rise and fall† is a more specific historic phenomenon, emerging first in the Western democracies in the late 1960s. This timing is important, for it helps us situate multiculturalism in relation to larger social transformations of the postwar era. More specifically, multiculturalism is part of a larger human-rights revolution involving ethnic and racial diversity. Prior to World War II, ethnocultural and religious diversity in the West was characterized by a range of illiberal and undemocratic relationships of hierarchy,6 justified by racialist ideologies that explicitly propounded the superiority of some peoples and cultures and their right to rule over others. These ideologies were widely accepted throughout the Western world and underpinned both domestic laws (e. g. , racially biased immigration and citizenship policies) and foreign policies (e. g. , in relation to overseas colonies). 5 6 Neil Bissoondath, Selling Illusions: The Cult of Multiculturalism in Canada. (Toronto: Penguin, 1994). Including relations of conqueror and conquered, colonizer and colonized, master and slave, settler and indigenous, racialized and unmarked, normalized and deviant, orthodox and heretic, civilized and primitive, and ally and enemy. Multiculturalism: Success, Failure, and the Future 5 MIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE After World War II, however, the world recoiled against Hitler’s fanatical and murderous use of such ideologies, and the United Nations decisively repudiated them in favor of a new ideology of the equality of races and peoples. And this new assumption of human equality generated a series of political movements designed to contest the lingering presence or enduring effects of older hierarchies. We can distinguish three â€Å"waves† of such movements: 1) the struggle for decolonization, concentrated in the period 1948–65; 2) the struggle against racial segregation and discrimination, initiated and exemplified by the AfricanAmerican civil-rights movement from 1955 to 1965; and 3) the struggle for multiculturalism and minority rights, which emerged in the late 1960s. Multiculturalism is part of a larger human-rights revolution involving ethnic and racial diversity. Each of these movements draws upon the human-rights revolution, and its foundational ideology of the equality of races and peoples, to challenge the legacies of earlier ethnic and racial hierarchies. Indeed, the human-rights revolution plays a double role here, not just as the inspiration for a struggle, but also as a constraint on the permissible goals and means of that struggle. Insofar as historically excluded or stigmatized groups struggle against earlier hierarchies in the name of equality, they too have to renounce their own traditions of exclusion or oppression in the treatment of, say, women, gays, people of mixed race, religious dissenters, and so on. Human rights, and liberal-democratic constitutionalism more generally, provide the overarching framework within which these struggles are debated and addressed. Each of these movements, therefore, can be seen as contributing to a process of democratic â€Å"citizenization† — that is, turning the earlier catalog of hierarchical relations into relationships of liberaldemocratic citizenship. This entails transforming both the vertical relationships between minorities and the state and the horizontal relationships among the members of different groups. In the past, it was often assumed that the only way to engage in this process of citizenization was to impose a single undifferentiated model of citizenship on all individuals. But the ideas and policies of multiculturalism that emerged from the 1960s start from the assumption that this complex history inevitably and appropriately generates group-differentiated ethnopolitical claims. The key to citizenization is not to suppress these differential claims but to filter them through and frame them within the language of human rights, civil liberties, and democratic accountability. And this is what multiculturalist movements have aimed to do. The precise character of the resulting multicultural reforms varies from group to group, as befits the distinctive history that each has faced. They all start from the antidiscrimination principle that underpinned the second wave but go beyond it to challenge other forms of exclusion or stigmatization. In most Western countries, explicit state-sponsored discrimination against ethnic, racial, or religious minorities had largely ceased by the 1960s and 1970s, under the influence of the second wave of humanrights struggles. Yet ethnic and racial hierarchies persist in many societies, whether measured in terms of economic inequalities, political underrepresentation, social stigmatization, or cultural invisibility. Various forms of multiculturalism have been developed to help overcome these lingering inequalities. The focus in this report is on multiculturalism as it pertains to (permanently settled) immigrant groups,7 7 There was briefly in some European countries a form of â€Å"multiculturalism† that was not aimed at the inclusion of permanent immigrants, but rather at ensuring that temporary migrants would return to their country of origin. For example, mothertongue education in Germany was not initially introduced â€Å"as a minority right but in order to enable guest worker children to reintegrate in their countries of origin† (Karen Schonwalder, â€Å"Germany: Integration Policy and Pluralism in a Self-Conscious Country of Immigration,† in The Multiculturalism Backlash: European Discourses, Policies and Practices, eds. Steven Vertovec and Susanne Wessendorf [London: Routledge, 2010], 160). Needless to say, this sort of â€Å"returnist† multiculturalism — premised on the idea that migrants are foreigners who should return to their real home — has nothing to do with multiculturalism policies (MCPs) premised on the idea that immigrants belong in their host countries, and which aim to make immigrants 6 Multiculturalism: Success, Failure, and the Future MIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE but it is worth noting that struggles for multicultural citizenship have also emerged in relation to historic minorities and indigenous peoples. 8 C. The Evolution of Multiculturalism Policies. The case of immigrant multiculturalism is just one aspect of a larger â€Å"ethnic revival† across the Western democracies,9 in which different types of minorities have struggled for new forms of multicultural citizenship that combine both antidiscrimination measures and positive forms of recognition and accommodation. Multicultural citizenship for immigrant groups clearly does not involve the same types of claims as for indigenous peoples or national minorities: immigrant groups do not typically seek land rights, territorial autonomy, or official language status. What then is the substance of multicultural citizenship in relation to immigrant groups? The Multiculturalism Policy Index is one attempt to measure the evolution of MCPs in a standardized format that enables comparative research. 10 The index takes the following eight policies as the most common or emblematic forms of immigrant MCPs:11 Constitutional, legislative, or parliamentary affirmation of multiculturalism, at the central and/ or regional and municipal levels The adoption of multiculturalism in school curricula The inclusion of ethnic representation/sensitivity in the mandate of public media or media licensing Exemptions from dress codes, either by statute or by court cases Allowing of dual citizenship The funding of ethnic group organizations to support cultural activities The funding of bilingual education or mother-tongue instruction Affirmative action for disadvantaged immigrant groups12 feel more at home where they are. The focus of this paper is on the latter type of multiculturalism, which is centrally concerned with constructing new relations of citizenship. 8 In relation to indigenous peoples, for example — such as the Maori in New Zealand, Aboriginal peoples in Canada and Australia, American Indians, the Sami in Scandinavia, and the Inuit of Greenland — new models of multicultural citizenship have emerged since the late 1960s that include policies such as land rights, self-government rights, recognition of customary laws, and guarantees of political consultation. And in relation to substate national groups — such as the Basques and Catalans in Spain, Flemish and Walloons in Belgium, Scots and Welsh in Britain, Quebecois in Canada, Germans in South Tyrol, Swedish in Finland — we see new models of multicultural citizenship that include policies such as federal or quasi-federal territorial autonomy; official language status, either in the region or nationally; and guarantees of representation in the central government or on constitutional courts. 9. Anthony Smith, The Ethnic Revival in the Modern World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981). 10 Keith Banting and I developed this index, first published in Keith Banting and Will Kymlicka, eds. , Multiculturalism and the Welfare State: Recognition and Redistribution in Contemporary Democracies (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006). Many of the ideas discussed in this paper are the result of our collaboration. 11 As with all cross-national indices, there is a trade-off between standardization and sensitivity to local nuances. There is no universally accepted definition of multiculturalism policies and no hard and fast line that would sharply distinguish MCPs from closely related policy fields, such as antidiscrimination policies, citizenship policies, and integration policies. Different countries (or indeed different actors within a single country) are likely to draw this line in different places, and any list is therefore likely to be controversial. 12 For a fuller description of these policies, and the justification for including them in the Multiculturalism Policy Index, see the index website, www.queensu. ca/mcp. The site also includes our separate index of MCPs for indigenous peoples and for national minorities. Multiculturalism: Success, Failure, and the Future 7 MIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE Other policies could be added (or subtracted) from the index, but there was a recognizable â€Å"multiculturalist turn† across Western democracies in the last few decades of the 20th century, and we can identify a range of public policies that are seen, by both critics and defenders, as emblematic of this turn. Each of the eight policy indicators listed above is intended to capture a policy dimension where liberaldemocratic states faced a choice about whether or not to take a multicultural turn and to develop more multicultural forms of citizenship in relation to immigrant groups. While multiculturalism for immigrant groups clearly differs in substance from that for indigenous peoples or national minorities, each policy has been defended as a means to overcome the legacies of earlier hierarchies and to help build fairer and more inclusive democratic societies. Therefore, multiculturalism is first and foremost about developing new models of democratic citizenship, grounded in human-rights ideals, to replace earlier uncivil and undemocratic relations of hierarchy and exclusion. Needless to say, this account of multiculturalism-as-citizenization differs dramatically from the 3S account of multiculturalism as the celebration of static cultural differences. Whereas the 3S account says that multiculturalism is about displaying and consuming differences in cuisine, clothing, and music, while neglecting issues of political and economic inequality, the citizenization account says that multiculturalism is precisely about constructing new civic and political relations to overcome the deeply entrenched inequalities that have persisted after the abolition of formal discrimination. It is important to determine which of these accounts more accurately describes the Western experience with multiculturalism. Before we can decide whether to celebrate or lament the fall of multiculturalism, we first need to make sure we know what multiculturalism has in fact been. The 3S account is misleading for three principal reasons. 13 Multiculturalism is first and foremost about developing new models of democratic citizenship, grounded in human-rights ideals. First, the claim that multiculturalism is solely or primarily about symbolic cultural politics depends on a misreading of the actual policies. Whether we look at indigenous peoples, national minorities, or immigrant groups, it is immediately apparent that MCPs combine economic, political, social, and cultural dimensions. While minorities are (rightly) concerned to contest the historic stigmatization of their cultures, immigrant multiculturalism also includes policies that are concerned with access to political power and economic opportunities — for example, policies of affirmative action, mechanisms of political consultation, funding for ethnic self-organization, and facilitated access to citizenship. In relation all three types of groups, MCPs combine cultural recognition, economic redistribution, and political participation. Second, the claim that multiculturalism ignores the importance of universal human rights is equally misplaced. On the contrary, as we’ve seen, multiculturalism is itself a human-rights-based movement, inspired and constrained by principles of human rights and liberal-democratic constitutionalism. Its goal is to challenge the traditional ethnic and racial hierarchies that have been discredited by the postwar human-rights revolution. Understood in this way, multiculturalism-as-citizenization offers no support for accommodating the illiberal cultural practices within minority groups that have also The same human-righ.