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Tim Soutphommasane boldly stakes a claim for the overwhelming success of multiculturalism in Australia. European governments are declaring multiculturalism a failure, with many conservatives in Australia hastening to agree. But is a multicultural approach to integration and diversity really as destructive as critics say? Have we been too quick to declare its demise? Offering an unflinching and informed defence of cultural diversity, Soutphommasane shows that multiculturalism is more than laksa, kebabs or souvlaki and that it doesn't automatically spell cultural relativism, ethnic ghettos or reverse racism. In fact, multicultural Australia has been a national success story.
About the author
Tim Soutphommasane is a lecturer at Monash University's National Center for Australian Studies and a columnist at the
Age. He is a senior project leader at the Per Capita think tank and a member of the Australian Multicultural Council, which advises the Australian government on multicultural issues.
Summary
Is a multicultural approach to integration and diversity really as destructive as critics say? Have we been too quick to declare its demise? Offering an unflinching and informed defence of cultural diversity, Tim Soutphommasane shows that multiculturalism is more than laksa, kebabs or souvlaki and that it doesn't automatically spell cultural relativism, ethnic ghettos or reverse racism.
