Multiculturalism
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an emphasis on cultural distinctiveness amounts to a form of political resistance, a refusal to succumb to repression or corruption. However, such an emphasis on cultural ‘purity’, which may extend to an unwillingness to engage in cultural exchange, raises concerns about the prospects for civic cohesion: diversity may be stressed at the expense of unity. Particularist multiculturalism may thus give rise to ingrained social fragmentation, as each cultural group gravitates towards an undifferentiated communal ideal, which has less and less in common with the ideals of other groups.
KEY FIGURE
BHIKHU PAREKH (BORN 1935) An Indian political theorist, Parekh has developed an influential defence of cultural diversity from a pluralist perspective. In Rethinking Multiculturalism (2005), he rejected universalist liberalism on the grounds that what is reasonable and moral is embedded in and mediated by culture, which, in turn, helps people to make sense of their lives and the world around them. ‘Variegated’ treatment, including affirmative action, is therefore required to put ethnic, cultural or religious minorities on an equal footing with the majority community.
Roger Harris/ Wikimedia Commons
TENSIONS WITHIN . . . MULTICULTURALISM Liberal multiculturalism v. Pluralist multiculturalism toleration difference
fundamental values
value pluralism
individual rights
cultural rights
‘shallow’ diversity
‘deep’ diversity
cultural fluidity
cultural embeddedness
liberal-democratic framework
plural political forms
universalism
particularism
Cosmopolitan multiculturalism Cosmopolitanism (see p. 139) and multiculturalism can be seen as entirely distinct, even conflicting, ideological traditions. Whereas cosmopolitanism encourages people to adopt a global consciousness which emphasizes that ethical responsibility should not be confined by national borders, multiculturalism appears to particularize moral sensibilities, focusing on the specific needs and interests of a distinctive cultural group. However, for theorists such as Jeremy Waldron (see p. 242), multiculturalism can effectively be equated with cosmopolitanism. Cosmopolitan multiculturalists endorse cultural diversity and identity politics, but they view them as essentially transitional states in a larger reconstruction of political sensibilities and priorities.This position celebrates diversity on the grounds of what
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