Engaging Cultural Differences

The Multicultural Challenge in Liberal Democracies

Richard A., Shweder, Martha Minow, Hazel Rose Markus

• Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
• Year: 2002
• Print ISBN:
  9780871547958
  9780871547910
• eBook ISBN:
  9781610445009
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Cultural & Social Anthropology
• Index: Social Sciences

Liberal democracies are based on principles of inclusion and tolerance. But how does the principle of tolerance work in practice in countries such as Germany, France, India, South Africa, and the United States, where an increasingly wide range of cultural groups holds often contradictory beliefs about appropriate social and family life practices? As these democracies expand to include peoples of vastly different cultural backgrounds, the limits of tolerance are being tested as never before. Engaging Cultural Differences explores how liberal democracies respond socially and legally to differences in the cultural and religious practices of their minority groups. Building on such examples, the contributors examine the role of tolerance in practical encounters between state officials and immigrants, and between members of longstanding majority groups and increasing numbers of minority groups. The volume also considers the theoretical implications of expanding the realm of tolerance. Some contributors are reluctant to broaden the scope of tolerance, while others insist that the notion of "tolerance" is itself potentially confining and demeaning and that modern nations should aspire to celebrate cultural differences. Coming to terms with ethnic diversity and cultural differences has become a major public policy concern in contemporary liberal democracies, as they struggle to adjust to burgeoning immigrant populations. Engaging Cultural Differences provides a compelling examination of the challenges of multiculturalism and reveals a deep understanding of the challenges democracies face as they seek to accommodate their citizens' diverse beliefs and practices.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Contributors
• Introduction. Engaging Cultural Differences
• Part I. One Nation, Many Cultures: Contested Practices and Group Status in Liberal Democracies
• Part II. Cultural Accommodation and Its Limits
• Part III. The Universal Human Rights Debate: Mobilization and Resistance
• Part IV. Conceptions of Difference and the Differences They Make
• Index