Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the mixture of cultures in today's world.

Essay by scarletsilver January 2007

download word file, 2 pages 3.0

For most countries multiculturalism is the norm. During the last few generations many people have experienced living in a multicultural society and even learnt to somewhat adapt to such a lifestyle. Nonetheless, both the positive and negative effects of multiculturalism are actively debated all over the globe, with multiculturalism having both its supporters and its critics.

A mixture of cultures in a country and, on a larger scale, in the world is normally down to immigration. Immigration is constantly occurring in varied amounts all over the world. Turbulence in a country or even in a continent trigger mass immigration to a more stable environment where people of different ideals and traditions are forced to cohabit and respect each other's cultures.

One of the main benefits of multiculturalism is the idea of a better united society. Supporters of this form of society claim that it's possible to achieve interculturalism, a chance for different cultures to learn about and influence other cultures' philosophy, art, literature, music and cuisine.

The main deterrent of this being reached is that it's not always possible to amalgamate two separate lifestyles together without losing something substantial from both. Also, people may feel that the state of mixed cultures present in their society has been forced on them, therefore without their consent. This generates a rather problematic situation for those vying to attain interculturalism considering the people are unwilling to participate.

There are a number of multicultural policies to facilitate the assimilation of cultures, including recognition of multiple citizenships, Government support for sources of media in minority languages, support for minority festivals, holidays and celebrations, acceptance of traditional dress and support for arts and music of minorities. This of course brings foreigners closer to their new home and helps people understand the foreigners more. This is another advantage...