• What is multiculturalism?
• Characteristics of multiculturalism
• Examples of multiculturalism
• Interculturality, multiculturalism and transculturality

We explain what multiculturalism is, characteristics and examples. In addition, interculturality, multiculturalism and transculturality.

Multiculturalism implies that different cultures coexist preserving their differences.

What is multiculturalism?

In a broad sense, multiculturalism or multiculturalism points to the presence of multiple traditions cultural cohabitation society, without having to sacrifice their respective identities; that is to say, to a friendly ethnic and cultural pluralism. However, the strict meaning of the concept is complex and depends on the specific field in which it is used, such as the sociology, political philosophy or colloquial language.

The idea of ​​multiculturalism arises in the context of the democracies Western liberals, whose societies have gradually absorbed a flux migratory of the rest of the planet, initially as a consequence of colonialism European, and later as a properly global phenomenon.

Thus, people of different ethnic, religious and linguistic origin live in nations founded on a National identity More strict. This, obviously, is the ideal setting for tensions and rivalries, but also for a significant enrichment of the culture receiver.

Multiculturalism can be understood as an alternative to the concept of “melting pot”, According to which multiethnic societies end up being culturally homogeneous, throughout a process of assimilation in which the dominant culture predominates (although not unpolluted).

A multicultural society, on the other hand, allows integration without sacrificing the identity of minority cultures in the process, proposing a space for them to exist as equals in every sense.

These minorities are not always of migrant origin, however. On many occasions they are the descendants of the original inhabitants of territories colonized by the powers European countries, which were more or less forcibly assimilated to a Condition modern founded according to the Western point of view.

In that sense, multiculturalism is part of a much larger political movement that advocates for the inclusion of marginalized groups in society, such as the LGBTQ population, people with disabilities, and so on.

Characteristics of multiculturalism

Broadly speaking, multiculturalism can be characterized as follows:

• The term may have a political or ideological use, according to which it consists of the necessary inclusion as equals of the ethnic and cultural minority sectors of a society, allowing them to retain their cultural identity. At the same time, it can have a descriptive use, applicable to those societies that, due to their historical origin, comprise diverse ethnicities, religions and cultures.
• In general, the multicultural perspective proposes that the inhabitants of a country coexist peacefully in difference, without having to sacrifice their cultural identity in favor of a dominant one.
• It is considered by its followers as a more just, comprehensive and tolerant social model, which allows people to express who they really are.
• On the other hand, he is criticized because his approach is somehow unattainable: the mere coexistence between different cultures leads to integration on different terms, and it is questionable whether cultures must necessarily be preserved in a state of "purity", since they are living organisms and changing over time.
• Another source of tension for multiculturalism is represented by points of philosophical or legal conflict between different cultures, on issues of social importance such as discrimination, the place of women in society or some traditional practices.

Examples of multiculturalism

Bolivian society is made up of 36 different groups of indigenous people.

A couple of current examples of multiculturalism are as follows:

• The Plurinational State of Bolivia. Bolivian society is made up from its origins by 36 different groups of indigenous settlers, among which the Aymara and Quechua predominate, as well as the mestizo people who are the fruit of the spanish colonization. This led in recent times to the approach of the State in multicultural terms: for example, the country's constitution recognizes 36 official languages ​​other than Spanish.
• Canadian society. Considered among the most progressive and diverse in the Western world, Canadian society has been governed by the values ​​of multiculturalism since the 1970s and 1980s. In fact, his proposal for a diverse and equitable It is held as a role model internationally, and is the reason behind its massive acceptance of migrants.

Interculturality, multiculturalism and transculturality

Other concepts related to the complex processes of cultural integration are those of interculturality, multiculturalism and transculturality, which deserve to be seen each one separately:

• Pluriculturality. The multicultural perspective differs from the multicultural one in that it does not defend unique cultural identities, but rather understands them as a cluster of cultural trends and traditions of different origins, which coexist within a society or even within the same individual.Thus, identity would not be something static, but multiple, and each person has a multicultural capacity that allows them to integrate into different cultural environments at the same time.
• Interculturality. Interculturality, on the other hand, is similar to multiculturalism in its idea that cultural integration should occur on equal terms, without dominating one culture over the other, but through dialogue and concertation. This allows conflicts characteristic of cultural contrast are resolved peacefully, horizontally and synergistically, fostering the meeting of cultures and the necessary hybridization that allows and encourages coexistence.
• Transculturality. For its part, the idea of ​​transculturality raises the possibility that cultural identity is deeply nourished by different traditions and origins, adding elements in a complex way to produce new traditions and new forms of culture. In this sense, more than a cultural integration, it is a more or less chaotic hybridization, the first result of globalist labor, economic and commercial trends. In this sense, cultural identities would be, at best, transitory and ever-changing.