Rethinking Multiculturalism: Cultural Diversity and Political Theory

Abstract

Bhikhu Parekh's voice has always been a distinctive one in the growing chorus of political theorists who talk about the challenge of cultural diversity.His perspective is not easy to classify.He criticizes liberal, communitarian or neorepublican theories and yet combines their core ideas in his own approach.Some readers of Rethinking Multiculturalism may feel that his outlook is too ecumenical.Parekh defends not only cultural, but also doctrinal diversity and this can occasionally be frustrating for critics who expect a political theory to provide a straightforward path from first principles to the resolution of hard cases.Yet Parekh's book is not at all eclectic.There is an underlying concern that organizes the text and gives it a distinctive edge.In my reading this is the idea that cultural diversity is an intrinsic value.Most liberal theories see cultural diversity as a fact rather than a value.Depending on their ranking of other values they arrive at quite different perspectives on how public policies should deal with diversity.While some argue for nearly unlimited toleration within a thin public sphere that emerges only from a spontaneous consensus between cultural communities (Kukathas, 1997), others defend an egalitarian conception of citizenship that permits for cultural exemptions in a limited number of cases (Barry, 2000).For Kymlicka (1995) the value of membership in a cultural community is