Ethnicity, Identity and Public Policy

Download or read book Ethnicity, Identity and Public Policy written by David Bromell and published by Institute of Policy Studies Victoria University of Welling. This book was released on 2008 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Should government adopt multiculturalism as public policy? What is the role of the state in managing diversity? Are all cultures of equal value? And is ethnicity the difference that most matters? In Ethnicity, Identity and Public Policy, David Bromell evaluates theory developed in other national contexts against challenges for public policy arising from ethno-cultural diversity in New Zealand. He concludes that this is a time to refine - and complicate - our thinking, and that the task of developing normative theory in relation to diversity and public life is still a work in progress. In Bromell's view, New Zealand should endorse neither multiculturalism nor biculturalism as official public policy. Instead, he advocates safeguarding individual rights, which all share equally, and a restrained role for the state in 'managing' diversity. He argues that reducing inequalities ought to be a higher priority than recognising identities. Overall, Bromell urges the cultivation of citizen participation in deliberative democracy and seeks to inform and stimulate debate about big ideas and difficult questions for public policy. This is a challenge for hearts as well as minds.