White Nation: Fantasies of White Supremacy in a Multicultural Society » (1st Edition)

Anthropologist and social critic Ghassan Hage explores one of the most complex and troubling of modern phenomena: the desire for a white nation. In this prickly, strongly argued book, he asks whether that desire is indeed limited to "racists." Drawing upon the Australian experience, Hage draws conclusions that might also be applicable in France, the United States, of Great Britian, each being examples of multicultural environment under the control of white culture. Hage argues that governments have promise white citizens they would lose nothing under multiculturalism. But on the ground - where people live - migrant settlement has changed neighborhoods, challenged white control, created new demands from non-whites, and led to white backlash. This provocative book suggessts that white racists and white multiculturalists may share more assumptions than either group suspects.

Booknews

Using the experience of immigration policy and the rise of Pauline Hanson's neo-fascist One Nation party in Australia, Hage (anthropology, U. of Sydney) argues that white racists and tolerant multiculturists both see their nation structured around a white culture that they control, with aboriginal people and migrants as exotic objects. His study was first published in 1998 by Pluto Press in Australia and Comerford and Miller in Britain. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)