Multiculturalism first emerged as a theoretical stance through the activities of the black consciousness movement of the 1960s, primarily in the USA. During this phase it was largely concerned with establishing black pride, often through re-establishing a distinctive African identity, and overlapped in many ways with postcolonialism. It has also been shaped by the growing political assertiveness, sometimes expressed through ethnocultural national-ism, of established cultural groups in various parts of the world and by the increasing cultural and ethnic diversity of many Western societies.
Multiculturalism reflects, most basically, a positive endorsement of communal diversity, usually arising from racial, ethnic and language differences. As such, multiculturalism is more a distinctive political stance than a coherent and programmic political doctrine. Multicultural theorists advance two broad sets of arguments in favour of communal diversity, one based upon its benefits to the individual and the other based upon its benefits to society. For the individual, multiculturalism recognizes that human beings are culturally embedded, in the sense that they largely derive their understanding of the world and their framework of moral beliefs and sense of personal identity from the culture in which they live and develop. Distinctive cultures therefore deserve to be protected or strengthened, particularly when they belong to minority or vulnerable groups. This leads to the idea of minority or multicultural rights, rights that may include the right to representation (and in certain cases the right to national self-determination), the right of respect for cultural, and usually religious, practices that may otherwise by prohibited by law or regulations, and the right to recognition through the preservation of symbols that help to promote collective esteem. For society, multiculturalism brings the benefits of diversity: a vibrancy and richness that stems from cultural interplay and encourages tolerance and respect for other cultures and religions, while at the same time strengthening insight into one’s own culture.
Multicultural theories have both drawn from liberalism and attempted to go beyond liberalism. Liberal multiculturalism is rooted in a commitment to freedom and toleration: the ability to choose one’s own moral beliefs, cultural practices and way of life, regardless of whether these are disapproved of by others. This ‘negative’ toleration justifies at least a live-and-let-live multiculturalism, or the politics of indifference. Such a position is based upon a belief in value pluralism, the idea that there is no single, overriding conception of the ‘good life’, but rather a number of competing conceptions, as associated with Isaiah Berlin. Some multicultural theorists nevertheless reject liberalism and claim that it only has a limited capacity to endorse cultural diversity. For example, liberals may accept cultural diversity only in so far as cultural and religious practices are confined to the ‘private’ sphere, and only if the practices in question are compatible with a basic liberal belief in autonomy and toleration. Liberals, thus, will not tolerate what they see as intolerant or illiberal practices. Non-liberal multicultural theories have, in a sense, developed out of the communitarian critique of liberalism, which stresses the culturally embedded nature of selfhood. More radical versions of multiculturalism support ‘positive’ toleration, meaning full and public recognition of distinctive cultures and not mere acceptance, and insists that the parameters of diversity must also encompass non-liberal and non-Western beliefs and practices. This form of multiculturalism often links the doctrine of minority rights to the promotion of social justice on the part of groups that have been disadvantaged or marginalized within conventional Western society.
The attraction of multiculturalism is that it seeks to offer solutions to challenges of cultural diversity which cannot be addressed in any other way. Only enforced assimilation or the expulsion of ethnic or cultural minorities will re-establish monocultural nation-states. Indeed, in some respects, multiculturalism has advanced hand in hand with the seemingly irresistible forces of globalization. However, multiculturalism is by no means universally accepted. Its critics argue that, since it regards values and practices as acceptable so long as they generate a sense of group identity, non-liberal multiculturalism may be forced to endorse reactionary and oppressive practices, particularly ones that subordinate women. Moreover, multi-culturalism’s model of group identity pays insufficient attention to diversity within cultural or religious groups and risks defining people on the basis of group membership alone. Even though cultural diversity is now inevitable in modern societies, multiculturalism may also promote political instability by emphasizing particularism rather than national cohesion. Finally, multi-culturalism may be incoherent in so far as it both proclaims the advantages of cultural embeddedness and holds that society benefits from exchanges among cultures that will tend weaken their distinctiveness.
Charles Taylor (1931– ) A Canadian political philosopher, Taylor has been primarily concerned with the issue of the construction of the self. His communitarian portrayal of persons as ‘embodied individuals’ has enabled him to argue in favour of the politics of recognition, based upon the belief that individuals need to be the object of others’ positive attitudes and that cultures have their own unique, authentic essences. Taylor accepts that liberal societies should be based upon guaranteed basic freedoms. His best known writings include Sources of the Self (1989) and The Politics of Recognition (1994).
Will Kymlicka (1962– ) A Canadian political theorist, Kymlicka has sought ways of reconciling liberalism with the ideas of community and cultural membership. He has advanced the idea of multicultural citizenship, based upon the belief that cultures are valuable and distinct and provide a context in which individuals are provided with meaning, orientation, identity and belonging. Kymlicka nevertheless distinguishes between the rights of national minorities, which may enjoy representation rights up to those of full self-government, and those of ethnic groups formed through immigration, which are entitled only to ‘polyethnic rights’. Kymlicka’s main works include Liberalism, Community and Culture (1989) and Multicultural Citizenship (1995).
Bhikhu Parekh (1935– ) A UK political theorist and former chair of the Commission for Racial Equality, Parekh has advanced a defence of a pluralistic perspective on cultural diversity and highlighted the inadequacy of liberal multiculturalism. Parekh’s multiculturalism is based upon a dialectical interplay between human nature and culture, in which human beings are culturally constituted in the sense that their attitudes, behaviour and ways of life are shaped by the groups to which they belong. The complexity of human nature is thus reflected in the diversity of cultures. Parekh’s works include Gandhi (1997) and Rethinking Multiculturalism (2000).
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