According to one leading writer, ‘we are all multiculturalists now’ (Glazer, 1997). This claim would be warmly endorsed by many Australians but hotly disputed by many others. It would be fair to say that most Australians acknowledge that they live in a ‘multicultural’ society – that is, a society that does in fact contain a diversity of cultures. But whether that fact is something to be celebrated and encouraged as a matter of public policy – whether, that is, Australia should embrace multiculturalism – is a much more contentious question. Along with countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and New Zealand, Australia has historically been a leader in the field of multiculturalist policy – although one should note immediately that the background and actual experience of multiculturalist policy has varied considerably among these different countries. But criticism has intensified over the years since the policy's beginnings in the 1970s, to the extent that many observers now claim that in Australia, as elsewhere, multiculturalism is in retreat (Joppke, 2004).

However, this picture of decline should not be exaggerated. For one thing, Australian multiculturalism still has vigorous defenders, such as the former Minister of Immigration, Chris Bowen (Bowen, 2011). Moreover, even if support for multiculturalism has declined since its inception, the decline may not be as steep as is sometimes claimed. As Geoffrey Levey writes, ‘if we are witnessing a retreat from “multiculturalism”, it appears to be a measured one’ (Levey, 2008: 19). Undeniably, opinions are now more divided than they were in the 1970s and 1980s, or perhaps it would be truer to say that the opposition to multiculturalism is more insistent and articulate now than it was then. However, at time of writing multiculturalism remains the official policy of Australia, although there is no longer a federal Minister of Multicultural Affairs. Perhaps the rhetoric has changed more than the actual policies.

In this chapter I consider the arguments for and against multiculturalism, with special reference to Australia, leaning ultimately towards a qualified defence. I begin by trying to answer some salient issues of definition. This leads me, in the second section, to examine some questions of philosophical justification.