Marxist Perspective Ethnic Theory And Policy Analysis

Ethnic issue is part of general social issues. This is a basic view of Marxist theory about ethnic issue, thus providing a theoretical perspective for us to look at America's ethnic issue.The United States of America is a nation-state which is formed through self-determination primarily by Anglo-Saxon ethnic group in the English-American colonies in accordance with European principles of nation-state. The American nation is in itself a combination of different ethnic groups.Since the establishment of the first settlement-Jamestown--in 1607 in North America, the English has followed the lead of earlier colonists-the Portuguese and the Spaniards-and started overseas expansion that lasted for several centuries to relocate its domestic population as a result of religious dispute, famine and desire for wealth. Before the outbreak of the War of Independence, while the political ideology and social relation in England were replicated in the English-American colonies, what make the colonies distinct from the home country--multiple ethnicity, the co-existence of Puritanism and materialism--and the tension caused by competing interests between the two sides gradually became obvious. The conflict of interests finally leads to the separation of the nation:the United States of America was founded after the War of Independence. The supremacy of so called "WASP" (White Anglo Saxon Protestants) was inevitable after independence as English had become the main tool for communication and English Puritanical ideas, systems and values with regard to politics, culture and religion dominated American culture.In the years after independence, to build a new nation that merely consists of individual citizens according to European principles of nation was laid on the agenda of the new born country. However, in more than two centuries'time, the idea of "melting pot"—to blend people of different nationalities/ethnic groups into one nation—has never been successfully practiced.First, native Indians and black communities were excluded from the "melting pot" by the American government's segregation policy. At the beginning, it was European colonists'urge to pursuit of wealth that brought the white, the Indians and the black together. As the expansion of America exploded periodically, the ternary ethnic structure first broke the ethnic boundaries defined in the Proclamation of 1763, then sequentially expanded into the Mississippi River Basin, the Missouri River Basin, and the Pacific coastal region in the far west. This is a process during which the native Indians gradually lost their territories and the Negros were captured and sold to new states and territories along Mason-Dixon Line (Line of latitude 36'30 " Plan). The American government though formed with the idea of limited government was quick to develop laws, acts, government decrees and judicial interpretation that were in favor of English-Americans and other white people. But at the same time it often turned a deaf ear to the Indians'call for retaining the status of their tribes and the Negro slaves' demand for freedom. As a result, the prevalence of racism that endowed the white people with supremacy is irreversible. However, there were moral incentives for the Puritans, the free farmers and the capitalists in the North who found themselves in an unfavorable condition in the competition with the South to call for an end to the slavery. These factors worked together with the strive to maintain the Union in abolishing the slavery through the Civil War and the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitute, which was passed after the war. The economic expansion as a result of post-war reconstruction and a new wave of immigration required more land. By around 1877 when the post-war reconstruction failed, the American Indian tribes lost their autonomy while the black people only gained human dignity in terms of law. With the enforcement of the Black Code and a series of other laws and acts passed later, the African Americans who had been the private property of the planters were turn into the lowest ethnic group. By putting the essence of its laws as "separate but equal", the American government, which was guided by the idea of national/ethnic pureness, set up a long-term segregation system to prevent "Africanization". By 1924, the Indians were granted full citizenship for the interests of political parties. But they finally became a loser in a white-dominated competitive environment which was totally new for them. They were left alone in their reserves with only government relief to live on. The ternary ethnic structure lasted until the end of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.Second, to reap the benefits alone, the white racists ostracized foreign immigrants and deprived their possessions that national/ethnic hierarchy was formed. Both the means of unfair competition contained in laws and acts, such as Immigration and Naturalization Act, Assigned Priority Bills, Chinese Exclusion Act, Restriction on Immigration Law, Immigration Nationality Act Plan, and the racism incidents in American history, such as the Palmer Raids, the violent action by Ku-Klux-Klan, religious intolerance, the exclusion of Chinese, the undifferentiated deportation of Mexicans, the imprisonment of Japanese Americans and the unchecked spread of McCarthyism, have increased ethnic minorities'awareness of group identity.Finally, the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s dismantled the barrier of racial segregation and produced Affirmative Action Programs. Consequently, national/ethnic awareness and multiculturalism emerged. The WASP-centered mentality was abandoned in education system and the Afro-American culture and customs were recognized. And the autonomous status of Indian tribes was reflected in the Indian Self-Determination Act. Ethnic groups felt more attached to their roots-the dependence on their traditional culture increased. All these not only marked the end to open racism but also demonstrated that the third wave of worldwide nationalism arising from the collapse of Soviet Union and former east block also impacted U.S. society. However, the Balkanization of the United States (the fragmentation of the nation) that may be caused by the emerge of national/ethnic awareness and multiculturalism couldn't be ignored by the conservatives in the country. The "Theory of Clash of Civilizations" reflected the deep-rooted concern about "Non-Americanization" among the conservatives.After examination of the development of American nation, this thesis concludes that:being a modern nation-state, the United States of America first emerged as a nation-state in the strict sense of the word and then gradual evolved into a nation-state in a more general sense. The "political integration and cultural diversity" we see today in the U.S. is actually the fruit of the Civil Rights Movement. In fact, the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement show exactly how absurd it is to shy away from "ethnicity politicizing" and how costly it could be. While sharing the common nationality, the American nation, in effect, is consist of different ethnic groups.The lessons we may draw from the development of American nation include:with the de facto inequality between different ethnic groups, how China as a united multi-ethnic country can manage to avoid the detours that the U.S. has experienced. When dealing with different ethnic minorities that are at different levels of development, a differentiated approach should be adopted instead of a one-size-fits-all solution. The social Darwinism attitude towards ethnic issues in the U.S. should be discarded. And in the full swing of the third wave of worldwide nationalism, we must uphold Marxism national theory as our guideline for works related to ethnic issues. At the same time, we need to draw on the successful experiences of Western countries, especially the U.S., to deal with unexpected ethnic problems coming up during the process of industrialization, urbanization and modernization so that the national unity and ethnic harmony could be maintained.