ʼn Vergelykende pluraliteitsanalise van die hantering van kulturele diversiteit, toegepas op Suid-Afrika, die Verenigde State van Amerika en Australië

[摘要] English: This study investigates the management of the conflict and struggles that arise when a variety of cultural groups reside in one society, under one political system (plurality). As various groups endeavour to establish their particular value system as the prevailing value system of the society, the value system of one or more of the other groups is compromised. Tension, conflict and struggle ensue. Where this struggle becomes violent, hundreds of thousands of lives can be lost. During the middle of the twentieth century, the idea emerged that plurality can be accommodated in a positive manner. Over time, this idea crystallized into the theory (or ideology) of Pluralism. The purpose of this study was to identify measures that were applied over a period of more than three centuries (1652 to 1962) in three different areas (currently known as the USA, South Africa and Australia) to manage plurality; and to determine how such measures influenced these societies in the long-term. A theory (more accurately, an ideology) like Pluralism is not the ideal instrument for objective analysis, because of its inherent value bias. This study therefore developed an empirical analytical framework through which to analyse the measures employed to handle plurality, and the effects thereof. It was felt that using this framework to conduct a comparative analysis would shed more light on both the measures that were applied over a long period in various societies, and the longterm effect of the various measures on these societies. It would also assist in projecting the probable effect of certain measures if applied to a specific society, under specific circumstances. However, the emphasis of this study is on the development of the analytical framework and the application thereof on the historical data of the chosen areas and societies from the beginning of the seventeenth century to just after the middle of the twentieth century, with a cut-off date of 1962. Although the framework was not applied to other societies, in other periods, due to the colossal nature of such an exercise, the results of this historical analysis indicate that the analytical framework developed in this study could open perspectives that could not be obtained through other methods. In the course of applying the framework illustratively to the chosen historical data, this study describes the various cultural groups involved, as well as their differences regarding numbers, language and culture. Conflicts that arose are noted, as well as the measures employed to deal with the plurality. Furthermore, from the methods that were used in various time frames, deductions are made regarding the morality that was current in those times. From an ideologically pluralistic perspective, some of the identified measures employed to cope with plurality could be regarded as negative, in that they were intended to suppress or eliminate plurality �?mostly accompanied by some form of violence �?whereas others could be regarded as positive, in their attempt to take plurality into consideration when determining the overarching values of the society, and even to strengthen and broaden the plurality. Finally, the morality of the actions of the various governments was judged against the prevailing morality of their times. In this study it was established that the governments of the three territories applied more or less the same methods in more or less the same periods to handle plurality under the influence of the contemporary international morality.

[发布机构] University of the Free State