Abstract

Taking Aristide Zolberg and Long Litt Woon's now classic article, "Why Islam is Like Spanish," as its point of departure, this paper elaborates on the social boundary concepts introduced there and argues that these ideas offer new insight into the processes leading to fundamental ethno-racial change. The boundary concepts allow us to move beyond the static, one-directional concept of assimilation inherited from a previous era. They also help us to understand the conditions under which a majority group may tolerate the large-scale assimilation of minorities. These revised understandings alert us to the potential for boundary change that is entailed in coming demographic shifts, in particular the departure of the baby boom from the labor market in the U.S.