Multiculturalism in Australia

A detailed Summary of Multiculturalism in Australia

Australia is a multicultural society. However, there are mixed feelings among the community about being multicultural. These conflicting viewpoints, stemming from things like the amount of education a person has, their upbringing, media exposure of certain race issues and the political nature of society, develop different attitudes towards multiculturalism. Some believe multiculturalism is good for the society as it brings cultural diversity to the society, can foster a tolerant society, and improve relations with other countries. However, others think multiculturalism is bad, perhaps under the belief that migrants take jobs, that they bring racial tension to Australia, and that they create and settle in ghettos.

A person's upbringing plays a major role in their views of the world, and indeed, what they believe about multicultural societies. If a person has grown up in a diverse suburb, with many different races, they would be more likely to be more tolerant of a multicultural society than a person who grew up in a one race suburb, or community. Parent's attitudes are also very important in shaping a person's view of the world, because as a child, your parents are one of the first people whose thoughts and views on a subject your

hear, and until a person grows and becomes more aware of things going on in their community, your parent's views are the ones you adopt. As you grow, it is your friends that influence your beliefs the most, including your attitude towards multiculturalism. The school a person attended is another factor which can shape a person's beliefs about multiculturalism. If a person was to attend a school which had students from one race, then one could assume that these students would be less tolerant towards a multicultural society than those from a school of mixed races. Another influence of a persons beliefs about a multicultural society would be if the person in question was a member of the minority race in the area. If a person was from a different culture to the majority in the area, one could assume that they would have different views about a multicultural society than a person from the majority culture in the area.

One of the more solid arguments against multiculturalism (in that there are many statistics to back it up) is that it is a drain on the nation's economy. Providing services like migrant learning centres, and translation equipment, or people, in all sorts of information giving facilities costs a lot of money to run. This money, some argue, could be better spent on dealing with unemployment, or poverty in Australia, even foreign aid, rather than spending it on the people living in a multicultural society in Australia.

Some people have negative views towards multiculturalism simply because they are racist, or hold racist feelings. No matter if this belief is a result of an experience with someone from another culture, or simply something passed down from generation to generation through their parents, if a person in racist, than they will not look favourably on a multicultural society in Australia.

Some people believe that a multicultural society fosters a tolerant attitude towards other races. The premise that this is based on is that if people experience, and subsequently learn about other cultures, they will no longer fear or be ignorant about them, and thus be more tolerant, and perhaps even embrace the contrasts that other races give to a community.

Views about multiculturalism in Australia can be shaped by many things, including a person's parent's beliefs, media coverage of race issues and personal experiences a person has had with people from another culture. All of these factors have resulted into two conflicting views about multiculturalism in Australia. Those who are for a multicultural society believe that it gives diversity and variety to an otherwise dull community,

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Approximate Word count = 1763
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Foreign