Vancouver and Montreal Assimilation and Multiculturalism

Vancouver and Montreal Assimilation and Multiculturalism

Introduction

With time Canada and the United States have developed into a global hegemony in terms of economic power and political culture. The order of the hegemony in these two countries is constructed through holding preponderant influence in 5 distinct spheres of influence that make up society: ideological, political, cultural, economic, and force (Fleras, 2003). These spheres of influence are brought together and interconnected to maintain global hegemony in the U.S. and Canada.

Discussion

In both Canada and the U.S., the cultural hegemony, like ideological hegemony, is the dominance of the ruling elite in cultural norms and ideas. The difference is that cultural hegemony is maintained in these two countries through a more systematic and institutional framework. At inception, cultural hegemony is a direct appendage to ideology; it is when this ideology is taught in the school system and perpetuated through the media (i.e., newsprint, textbook, radio, cinema, etc.) that it takes its full cultural manifestation. At inception, cultural hegemony can often be seen in the very way that a group of people view historical events or if the events are even acknowledged as having occurred. This is typified in the cultural wars that have come to exist in the debate about the United States and the intentions of its founding fathers and in the controversy surrounding gay marriage. This is the dynamic that allows hegemony to have influence even in a multiethnic setting and the ensuing negotiations of cultural identities.

Along with the establishment of cultural hegemony comes the foundation of political hegemony. Political hegemony in Canada and United States is the domination of the elite ruling class in the sphere of politics. In this sphere, there is a limitation placed upon access to governmental influence by rival political ideologues and ideologies. This limitation is necessary because it threatens one of the main pillars of the ruling elite: the consent of the masses. This control happens in the ideological sphere and then culturally in that there is a prohibition placed on the right of dissemination and organization of the rival political points of view. As a result, the view that things could be different politically never reaches the awareness of the masses (Collins, 2003).

There can ultimately be no power without establishing a solid control of economic hegemony in the arena of governance. Without the control of the means and modes of productions, there can ...