by In Wales
Thu Feb 14th, 2008 at 10:17:37 AM EST
The discussion on census information brought up some points around ethnicity which then lead to an interesting comment from Margouillet about community vs collectivity.
If I understand the point - we are effectively looking at two different constructions or discourses around citizens and equality.
In the UK, discourse is developing in such a way as to say that individuals are not equal, we are have different needs and face different barriers in terms of accessing society and exercising our rights. Therefore, when planning services and public policy, the demographics of the local population must be known in order to allocate resources and make services accessible to all.
My understanding of Margouillet and Linca's points is that public policy and planning is done collectively not taking into account demographic differences in populations.
Both discourses in my view aim to seek integration of minorities but go about it in a different way.
Does collectivity as an approach bring about real integration or is it forced assimilation that then hides the disadvantages and inequalities faced by minority groups?
In the UK, the citizen centred model seeks to support integration by ensuring that barriers to accessing healthcare, education and so on are understood and eliminated by designing services that meet individual needs, rather than telling individuals they must fit in with the majority.
But there is only so far that each model can go and both have their flaws.
So, I'm interested to know why in France, minority religions aren't expressed comfortably and everyone has to fit with the majority - whereas in the UK, religious minorities are accommodated to the point that the courts have to decide whether the human rights of one group can over-ride those of another (eg sexual orientation vs religion).
Feel free to correct any misunderstandings I may have and please throw your own thoughts into the mix.
