Creating a virtuous society: Immigration and Australia's policies of multiculturalism

Australia's post-war programme of mass immigration has been accompanied by growing ethnic and racial diversity. This process of diversification accele rated markedly from the 1970s onwards after the abandonment of the White Au stralia Policy in the 1960s, Despite this diversification, Australia has be en able to sustain itself as a peaceful liberal democracy. It is the conten tion of this article that Australia's policies of multiculturalism have pla yed an important role in contributing to this state of relative peacefulnes s. This article seeks to assemble some evidence from the Australian experie nce to 'test' the notion that the peacefulness of Australian society may, i n some measure, be understood as a product of the contribution of its polic ies of multiculturalism to engendering and reinforcing those very virtues w hich liberal democracies require in order to sustain themselves over time.