Multiculturalism versus Liberalism - Essay Example

Multiculturalism Multiculturalism is a term used broadly to describe a society comprised of several different cultures living together. Over the years, several events and activities have occurred that have resulted in the development of multicultural societies as people from diverse cultures get to interact and carry out common activities together. This has resulted in the creation of societies made up of different people from diverse cultures that have different beliefs, norms, values, traditions, and practices (Perry, et al., 132). The term is also used normally to refer to the various beliefs, policies, and ideologies that support the existence of cultural diversity within society. Several ideologies that support multiculturalism exist such as those that advocate for equal respect for all the cultures present within a society, those that propose that governments and authorities should address the needs of different people based on the different ethnicities and cultures they come from, and those that promote the maintenance of cultural diversity. As such, a multicultural society is described as one that is characterized by a rich mixture of cultures and supports the desire amongst its people to convey their own identities in the way they deem fit (Brian, 3). The second approach to multiculturalism aims at dealing with the numerous challenges that arise because of cultural diversity, especially due to the problems that face the minority and marginalized groups within society. Liberalism Liberalism refers to a political philosophy that is based on the notions of equality and liberty that support basic human rights and freedoms such as individual civil rights, freedom to own private property, freedom of expression, free and just elections, freedom of religion, free trade, and freedom of association. This philosophy arose because of a rejection of tyrannical, oppressive, and conservative practices and ideas such as absolute monarchy, the godly right of kings, state religion, and hereditary privilege that only favored a few individuals within society (Perry, et al., 183). Liberalism emerged during the 16th and 17th centuries when there were numerous religious wars across Europe that were against tyrannical leadership. Regarded as the Enlightenment Age, it saw the beginning of powerful revolutionary movements aimed at ending tyrannical regimes across the world especially in Europe, with the most remarkable one being the French revolution. A multiculturalism critique of liberal notions of citizenship The term citizenship is a term used broadly to refer to the link between an individual and the state and which grants that individual certain legal rights and freedoms. Citizenship has three main dimensions. The first is legal status that grants an individual freedom to act in accordance with the law and the right to seek protection by the law (Isin and Turner, 32). The second dimension is political and assumes individuals as political agents who participate in political undertakings within society. The third is identity whereby an individual is deemed a member of a political community hence gaining an identity. Differences in the approach adopted by liberalism and multiculturalism have created a tension between these two ideologies especially in the manner of leadership to be adopted by governments and various authorities. One such are of tension arises on the views of citizenship adopted by liberals and multiculturalists. A major model of citizenship is liberal citizenship that adopts legal status and political liberty as important aspects of citizenship and which help to protect individuals from oppression by the authorities and other individuals. Several multiculturalists criticisms have been raised against the various liberal ideas of citizenship adopted by liberals. The first criticism is the failure of liberalism citizenship to address the various inequalities present in the present capitalist societies. The capitalist approach towards production and property ownership has resulted in numerous inequalities that proponents of liberal citizenship have been unable to address (Kymlicka, 195). The ideas of notions of equality and freedom are major principles that are very important within any liberal citizenship discourse. As such, it is essential that a society that ascribes to these liberal ideas should uphold the various rights and freedoms provided to individuals within a society. Conversely, capitalism has resulted in the creation of distinctions and classifications of individuals based on their social, political, and economic status. This has undermined the basic ideas of equality and freedom that liberal citizenship should encourage within a society. Marx, a major critique of liberal citizenship, dismisses the rights and freedoms upheld by liberalism as the expressions of the alienated and egoistical person living in a bourgeois society. It is Marx’s view that rights do not serve as bridges but as barriers to human freedom. A second criticism is the failure of liberal citizenship to prevent gender inequality present in today’s society. Most feminist has pointed out that modern liberal citizenship has failed to fully incorporate women and has continued to integrate them mainly based on their biological and social roles. As such, they are regarded as mothers and wives hence being denied access to activities and opportunities that are outside their normal spheres of life that would enable them to participate actively in political issues (Anupama, 165). This action is against the underlying ideas of equality and freedom that the liberalists adhere to as women have to work harder than men in order to excel in various activities and areas of specialization that are deemed to be the domain of men. In addition, feminists have also indicated the failure of liberalists to take into consideration the patriarchal nature of most societies and the way that gender has been used for many years to determine the rights and duties of men and women in society. As such, women are only included unequally and indirectly as consorts of citizens who are the men as they have full access to the rights and freedoms under citizenship. This was the case especially during the French revolution, which is a very important event for liberalism as it was the major revolution to occur in Europe and heralded the beginning of the liberalism. A third critique of liberal citizenship is that it has led to the disintegration of the society and resulted in the rise of alienation in modern societies due to the lack of a commitment to civic duty, active citizenship, and the common good. It is important that authorities and leaders undertake political policies and activities that help achieve a common good for all in society. Citizenship serves as a binding principle within a society hence provides a shared environment for the participation of all individuals in that society with the aim of achieving a common good. Conversely, liberal citizenship follows a politics of rights approach that emphasizes the need for respecting the rights and freedoms of individuals without providing them with a suitable platform that would enable them to achieve common goals that would benefit the whole society. Though individuals have their rights and freedoms, the resources available in society only end up benefiting a few. In addition, the lack to pursue the politics of a common good only strengthens the various distinctions in society that are based on class, religion, ethnicity, and race, therefore leading to more alienation, especially for minority groups within the society. A liberal defense of citizenship in response to the multicultural critique In defense of the first criticism, liberals argue that they believe in a reasonably equal society characterized by democracy, the rule of law, and civil liberties and therefore value those institutions that fight against economic inequality. As such, they support the existence of mixed economies as well as those institutions that limit the extremes of poverty and wealth. Mixed economies are characterized by the existence of both economic government and private control, resulting in a combination of both socialism and capitalism. Under a mixed economy, the control of resources and the basic means of production are under private enterprises that seek to gain profit and accumulate capital yet governments wield considerable market control through various monetary and fiscal policies to help neutralize capitalistic tendencies and economic crises and provide certain common goods and services. It is most liberal’s view that the economic prosperity achieved since the Second World War is due to the mixed economy model adopted in many countries across the globe. In defense of the second criticism, liberals argue that political liberalism starts from the basis of reasonable pluralism, which asserts that within a free and democratic society, reasonable individuals usually accept opposing and conflicting but nonetheless widespread doctrines (Hartley and Watson, 11). Reasonable widespread doctrines arise from the application of both practical and theoretical reason and which usually relate to a major tradition of thought. Since reasonable widespread doctrines are usually those that are generally accepted by reasonable individuals, they are therefore consistent with the standards for reasonable personhood. As such, reasonable people accept the various judgmental burdens within the society and how these judgmental burdens restrict public reason and opinion. Based on this argument, modern liberal citizenship has failed to incorporate women fully and has continued to integrate them since the biological and social roles used to assign roles to women are deemed as reasonable widespread doctrines. Reasonable individuals generally accept these doctrines; they are therefore consistent with the standards for reasonable personhood. In defense of the third criticism, liberals argue that political rule and the state exist in order to protect individuals from suffering any harm from others and provide a few public goods. The work of the state is to provide individuals with certain benefits that cannot be obtained individually. As such, citizenship and self-regulation are considered collective instruments to the extent that they yield certain benefits. This is because rights usually entail certain duties hence one cannot receive a certain right unless another person or entity carries out the corresponding duty (Diamond, 242). As such, liberal citizenship follows a politics of rights approach that emphasizes the need for respecting the rights and freedoms of individuals and only provides them with certain benefits that cannot be obtained individually. A multicultural rejoinder Despite the existence of mixed economies and continued market control by government through various monetary and fiscal policies to help neutralize capitalistic tendencies and economic crises, there has been a marked increase in the divide between the rich and the poor in the society. The rich continue to get richer while the poor in society have continued to get poorer by the day. In addition, some of the monetary and fiscal policies implemented by governments tend to favor the rich and those in possession of resources since they are the ones who pay the most taxes that are necessary for any government to operate effectively. Though biological and social roles used to assign roles to women are deemed as reasonable widespread doctrines, a liberal is described as one who welcomes fresh ideas without adhering to the rigid practices of society and tradition and is usually concerned about the wellbeing of other people. They should therefore be concerned with the wellbeing of women in society and their rights as equal beings, which would be in tandem with the ideas of equality and freedom that the liberalists adopt. By doing so, women would not have to work harder than men in order to excel in various activities and areas of specialization that are deemed the domain of men. The lack of civic duty, active citizenship, and the common good by many leaders and those in authorities has continued to ensure those underprivileged people in society continue to wallow in poverty. Despite the need to carry out these very important activities within an equal and free society, leaders have continued to deny people, especially the minority groups, the right to access knowledge and resources that would help them overcome some of their problems as this helps to keep them under their control. A liberal's final reply Liberalism is based on the notions of equality and liberty that support basic human rights and freedoms and an equal society characterized by democracy, the rule of law, and civil liberties. People are free to elect those individuals that are considered to uphold the values that will ensure they are able to achieve these goals within reasonable widespread doctrines and therefore be able to conduct their activities within the confines of reasonable personhood. The duty of every citizen to exercise their rights in order to ensure they achieve the goals and expectations they have. The state exists in order to protect individuals from suffering any harm from others and provide a few public goods. Citizenship serves to enable individuals to pursue their rights and should therefore ensure that they receive the necessary rights, freedoms, and essential public goods that they deserve. Works cited Anupama, Roy. Gendered Citizenship: Historical and Conceptual Explorations. Delhi: Orient Longman, 2005. Print. Brian, Barry. Liberalism and Multiculturalism. Ethical Perspectives, 4, 2 1997: 3-14. Print. Diamond, Larry. The Spirit of Democracy. New York: Macmillan, 2008. Print. Hartley, Christie and Watson, Lori. Is A Feminist Political Liberalism Possible? Journal of Ethics & Social Philosophy Vol. 5, No. 1 2010: 1-21. Print. Isin, Engin and Turner, Bryan. Handbook of Citizenship Studies. London: Sage, 2002. Print. Kymlicka, Will. Multicultural Citizenship. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. Print. Perry, Marvin et al. Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics, and Society. Florence, KY: Cengage Learning, 2008. Print. Read More