Assimilation, Multiculturalism and Communitarianism: Models of Integration

Faced with linguistic, religious and cultural diversity, English-speaking societies have experimented with different models for organising life together, with varying results and controversies.

Three Competing Models

Assimilation involves newcomers fully adopting the dominant culture, sometimes at the cost of erasing their culture of origin. Multiculturalism, by contrast, values the coexistence of cultures. Communitarianism refers to a more pronounced withdrawal of groups into their own institutions.

These three models are not mutually exclusive: real societies often combine elements of each, depending on the historical period and the community involved.

The Excesses of Forced Assimilation

The history of the English-speaking world includes examples of forced assimilation policies with dramatic consequences, such as the Stolen Generations in Australia, Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their families in the name of integrating them into the dominant white culture.

Concrete Example

In the United Kingdom, a 1974 speech by Conservative minister Keith Joseph sparked fierce controversy by suggesting encouraging the adoption of children born to teenage mothers from disadvantaged backgrounds, illustrating the possible excesses of an assimilationist vision of social cohesion.

L'essentiel

Assimilation: full adoption of the dominant culture, sometimes imposed with serious consequences (Stolen Generations).
Multiculturalism and communitarianism: two alternative responses, valuing either the coexistence or the preservation of cultural identities.