Assimilation, generally, is defined as the process of incorporating various racial and ethnic groups into a societyto which they have immigrated, in such a way that they mayhenceforth be described by the characteristics of the society in which they have been assimilated, as opposed to the charac teristics of the societies from which they came (Gordon, 1964, p. 60). On a formal level, assimilation is a "process of interpretation and fusion in which persons and groups acquire the memories, sentiments, and attitudes of other persons or groups, and, by sharing their experience and history, are incorporated with them into a common life" (Gordon, 1964, p. 62). Cultural pluralism, by contrast, is defined as the pro cess of incorporating various racial and ethnic groups into a society to which they have immigrated, in such a way that they may retain the characteristics of the society from whichthey came, while, simultaneously, fully participating in the society to which they have immigrated (Gordon, 1964, pp. 8 9).
Assimilation and cultural pluralism are the opposite poles of a continuum of perspectives as to how immigrant ethnic and racial groups should be incorporated into a society. One of the questions involved in this issue is which approach is likely to lead to the highest levels of societal stability.
Assimilation implies acceptance of the melting pot theory, which, as it was applied to the United States, assumed that immigrants to the United States would cease to be Italians, or Jews, or Mexicans, or whatever, and would become simply Ameri cans. Conversely, cultural pluralism rejects the melting pot concept, assuming instead that various racial and ethnic mores will coexist within an umbrella culture. Advocates of assimi lation contend that the elimination of differences within a society will lead to the highest levels of cultural stability. While there is a great deal to say for this argument in theory, in practice, t...