Social Freedom in a Multicultural State –Towards a Theory of Intercultural Justice

Abstract

Western democratic states are experiencing a backlash against the politics of multiculturalism. While a multicultural critique of liberal democracy is necessary it has all too often been rooted in the notion of cultures as separate and distinct, fuelling the backlash that regards this as a politics of division. The challenge facing liberals and multiculturalists alike is to recognise the importance of claims of culture without collapsing multicultural society into a series of discrete cultural ghettos. This book addresses the challenge by reframing the debate, moving away from the emphasis on cultural membership to focus instead on the contexts in which the particularities of minorities impact on claims for justice and recognition. We must respond to circumstances of injustice which impede minorities' capability to pursue meaningful activities in multiple dimensions – economic, social and political as well as cultural – as citizens of equal status. This book argues that it is possible to defend intercultural justice and freedom without entrenching culture, group and identity, and that it is important to do so.