Question

Explain the policies of paternalism and assimilation

Answer 1

Paternalism refers to a person’s behavior, organization or state, which limits freedom of a person or group for their own good. It implies that the behavior expresses superiority attitude regardless of the will of a person, group or state. This behavior is akin to a fatherly attitude wherein subordinates are controlled or should be controlled in a fatherly way. So basically, it is the policy of treating subject people as if they were children, providing their needs but not their rights.

Assimilation, on the other hand, is the social way of adapting one cultural group into harmony with another.  Assimilation can be cultural assimilation whereby minority groups gradually absorb to the attitudes and customs or the dominating culture and or customs.  This means that it is a policy in which a nation forces or encourages a subject people to adopt its institutions and customs.