Words and meanings

This section contains a series of ten essays, each of which looks at a group of related words or phases commonly encountered in discussions about equality in general, and racial equality in particular.

Each essay describes how the meanings of these terms have evolved over time, and considers how different ideological, social and cultural influences have played a part in this.

One of the obstacles many of us face in getting involved in discussing race and racial equality is that different people often place quite different meanings on the words and phrases which tend to feature heavily in these discussions.

Sometimes there are no clear, straightforward or universally-accepted definitions of these terms, which is perhaps one reason why misunderstandings and misconceptions so frequently occur. Abstract concepts do not lend themselves to easy definition, and even 'experts' frequently disagree as to precisely what is - or should be - meant by terms such as 'multiculturalism' or 'globalisation'. 'Integration' is an interesting case in point. As recently as the 1970s, it was synonymous with 'assimilation' - the absorption of minorities into the ways of the majority. Over the last few years, many people - including the CRE - have promoted the redefinition of 'integration' to encompass the equality, interaction and participation of all groups in society, and today, this definition of 'integration' underpins all current CRE policy work.

Meanings of particular terms can change over time for a number of reasons. In many cases, changes are gradual, and simply reflect the fact that we live in a world where ideas, beliefs and practices are constantly being challenged, re-evaluated and re-interpreted.

Sometimes, political or social movements - and the way the popular media covers these - can bring about more rapid change, imbuing words and phrases with implied new meanings. This is often largely due to the context in which they are used in the media and in everyday conversation: a phrase like 'illegal asylum seekers' is often used as common currency, even though there is nothing at all 'illegal' about the act of seeking asylum. Similarly, it can be difficult for some people to separate the word 'globalism', generally defined as the economic philosophy which favours a single world market free of controls on the movement of capital, labour and commodities, from implied connotations of exploitation and inequality.

The essays on these pages attempt to reflect how the usage and meanings of these words have changed over time. They are not intended as 'the last word' on any subject; their purpose is to shed some light on what these terms are generally taken to mean in common usage today, and to highlight where and how different interpretations can occur.

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