A professor from Flinders University has written about Australia’s strong history of multiculturalism, saying that it is part of the national tradition and should be treated as such.

In the newly-published book, ‘Theories of Multiculturalism: An Introduction’, Flinders’ Professor George Crowder probes the political and theoretical foundations of modern multicultural policy across several countries. The book was written as a guide to the subject for students of politics, philosophy, sociology, and political and social theory, but has plenty to say to anyone who believes the acceptance of all cultures is a threat to liberal democracy.

“Multiculturalism is a logical development of mainstream forms of liberal thinking that place a universal value on individual liberty and equality,” Prof Crowder says

“Liberal political thinkers have always argued that people should be free to choose their own way of life, although of course here are limits, including the rights of other people.”

Professor Crowder has defined multiculturalism in its fullest form as a set of policies that actively support minority cultures, including indigenous peoples and immigrant groups. Crowder says that Australia and Canada have been the world’s most prominent long-term exponents of this brand of multiculturalism since the 1970s.

He says there is a fine line between acceptance, tolerance, and cultural neglect.

Prof Crowder says assimilationist efforts to bring others ‘into the fold’; “seek, at least informally, to eliminate them”

He says tolerance alone can easily become “benign neglect” if “you don’t celebrate them or say there’s anything valuable about them – you leave them to go their own way.”

Not every aspect of every culture should be wholly encouraged though; “radical forms of multiculturalism that place equal value on all cultural practices are not justifiable and would effectively undermine multiculturalism itself, as some cultural traditions deny the liberty and equality of women, for example,” said Professor Crowder

Crowder says acceptance and encouragement is the only way forward.

“After 40 years, it has become part of the way many Australians tend to think about Australia: as a country that welcomes and accommodates immigrants from multiple cultural backgrounds, and that respects the special place of its Indigenous peoples,” he said.

“To say we must return to some national identity that devalues all of those things is to turn back the clock.”