Chapter - 3
" Democracy and Diversity "
❇️ What is democracy ?
🔹 In the dictionary definition, democracy "is government by the people in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
❇️ What is diversity ?
🔹 The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique and recognizing our individual differences.
❇️ Homogeneous Society :-
🔹 A society that has similar kinds of people especially where there are no significant ethnic difference.
❇️ African - American :-
🔹 The descendants of Africans who were brought into America as slaves between the 17th century and early 19th century.
❇️ Apartheid :-
🔹 A policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race.
❇️ Racism :-
🔹 Discrimination on the basis of colour of skin.
❇️ Civil Rights Movement :-
🔹 It refers to a set of events and reforms movements aimed at abolishing legal racial discrimination against African - Americans
❇️ Migrants :-
🔹 Anybody who shift from one region or country to another region within country or to another country for work or other economic opportunities.
❇️ Black Power Movement :-
🔹 This movement emerged in 1966 and lasted till 1975. It was a more militant and anti-racist movement. The Black Power Movement advocated even violence, if necessary, to end racism in the US.
❇️ Incident of two US athletes who protested at Mexico Olympics in 1968 :-
🔹 Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the US athletes received their medals wearing only a pair of black socks with no shoes to represent Black poverty. The black-gloved and raised clenched fists were meant to symbolize Black Power. They were responding to social divisions and social inequalities. With this gesture their intention was to draw international attention to racial discrimination in the United States. Peter Norman wore a human rights badge on his shirt during the ceremony to show his support to the two Americans. The medals were taken back from Tommie Smith and John Carlos because the International Olympic Association held both of them guilty of violating the Olympic spirit by making a political statement.
❇️ Origin of Social Differences :-
🔹 Differences, similarities, divisions are connected with each others.
✴️ What is Social Differences :-
🔹 Social Differences are social identities based on accident of birth or on individual choices.
❇️ Social differences Originate due to following reasons :-
✴️ Accident of birth :-
🔹 We don't choose to belong to our community. We belong to it simply because we were born into it. We experience social differences based on accident of birth in our everyday lives.
✴️ Based on choices :-
🔹 Some of the differences are based on our choices. Some people are atheists. They don't believe in God or any religion. Some people choose to follow a religion other than the one in which they were born. Most of us choose to study a subject of our interest and an occupation where we can excel. All these lead to formation of social groups that are based on our choices.
❇️ Overlapping :-
🔹 A social difference overlaps with another difference.
🔹 People start feeling that they belong to different communities.
🔹 These creates possibilities of deep social divisions.
🔹 The difference between Blacks and the white in USA is an example of overlapping difference because the Blacks are poor, homeless and discriminated.
❇️ Cross Cutting :-
🔹 A social difference coss-cuts another difference.
🔹 The group can share a common interest on one issue but are likely to be in different sides on different issues.
🔹 These are easier to accommodate.
🔹 In Netherlands, Class and religion tend to cut across each other as Catholics and Protestants are about equally likely to be poor or rich.
❇️ Politics of social divisions :-
🔹 Democracy involves competition among various political parties.
🔹 Competition divides society and turns them into political divisions which ultimately lead to conflict, violence or even disintegration of a country.
❇️ Three factors that determine the outcome of politics of social divisions :-
✴️ How people perceive their identities :-
🔹 If people see their identities in exclusive terms, it becomes difficult to accommodate. As long as people in Northern Ireland saw themselves as only Catholic or Protestant, their differences were difficult to reconcile. It is easier if identities are complimentary with national identity. This helps to stay together.
✴️ How political leaders raise demands of any community :-
🔹 It is easier to accommodate demands that are within the constitutional framework and are not at the cost of another community. The demand for 'only Sinhala' was at the cost of the interest and identity of the Tamil community in Sri Lanka.
✴️ How Government reacts to demands of different groups :-
🔹 If the rulers are willing to share power and accommodate the reasonable demands of minority community, as in Belgium, social divisions become less threatening for the country. But if the demand is suppressed in the name of national unity, as in Sri Lanka, the end result is quite opposite. Such attempts at forced integration sow the seeds of disintegration.
