The challenges and questions posed by multiculturalism are at the center of the new book by LUISS Professor Domenico Melidoro, a member of the Center for Ethics and Global Politics. The latest in the Piccole Introduzioni series from LUISS University Press, Multiculturalismo presents research regarding the political debate on cultural diversity and attempts to understand how governments can achieve peaceful cohabitation between different cultures within the same community.
It is a fundamental question in today’s society, as Melidoro explains: “Cultural diversity is seen as a threat to liberties associated to liberal-democratic governments, and there is a general climate of distrust when it comes to multiculturalism and minority-inclusion policies, particularly those regarding Muslim minorities. Behind these fears are primarily weak arguments that give leverage to prejudices more often than to scientifically obtained, verifiable data.”
Multiculturalism becomes problematic when cultural differences clash with principles considered fundamental to liberal democracies. “Questions about multiculturalism and cultural diversity emerged first in liberal-democratic societies such as Canada, Australia and the United States. At the political theory level, it was liberal academics (Will Kymlicka, from Canada, can be considered the pioneer) who first considered how cultural diversity could pose unprecedented problems on both the conceptual and practical levels. In the past liberalism considered problems in which moral, political and philosophical diversity were based in a single culture. Multiculturalism reflects on questions such as those posed by immigration, where problematic differences are not the product of a single value system, and where are people claim rights based on that which makes them different from the majority.”
Some theorists criticize the liberal vision of multiculturalism, proposing alternative positions that are more proactive in including differences or in finding a balance when a state is indifferent to cultural diversity. “For example, multiculturalism based on inclusion, sustained by authors such as Charles Taylor and Bhikhu Parekh, considers differences between various cultural identities, and aims to establish fair terms of cohabitation through intercultural dialogue. Another theory is multiculturalism based on indifference, developed by Chandran Kukathas, a vision that emphasizes the importance of autonomy for groups and the ethical freedom of individuals. His ideal society is made up of groups that are more or less independent, like as islands of an archipelago, in a sea of reciprocal indifference, in which the state has a minimal role.”
Despite the plausibility of scenarios in which cultural groups are granted considerable autonomy, Melidoro hopes to defend the role of the state in multicultural societies. “In my book, I support the state’s role in multiculturalism. It is the state that must guarantee that individuals’ fundamental rights are not violated and that minorities are not oppressed by richer, more powerful groups.”
Recent developments in European migration render multiculturalism inevitable, a fact that Melidoro deems a momentous issue requiring us to take a political position. “Recent events have brought immigration to the front page; as a matter of global justice, the West cannot simply close itself off and refuse those who are poor and different. Claims to preserving a national identity and a return to cultural homogeneity of the past seem less viable paths every day. Multiculturalism is a governmental response to cultural diversity. This diversity is a fact, denying it is not a response.”