The ‘-ism’ suffix wrongly converts heterogeneous lived conditions into a fixed doctrine

Evidence

The problem is that the “-ism” tends to convert “multiculturalism” into a political doctrine and “reduces [it] to a formal singularity, fixing it into a cemented condition.… Thus converted, … the heterogeneity characteristic of multi-cultural conditions is reduced to a pat and pedestrian doctrine” (Caws 1994). — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 308

Categorization

• DEFINE: A subtle linguistic point: the suffix ‘-ism’ itself does ideological work by imposing singularity on heterogeneity.