Volume 50, 2008
Social and Political Philosophy
Sushila Ramaswamy
Pages 661-686
The Incompleteness of Multiculturalist Agenda
Overlooking the Need for a Shared Identity
It is generally believed that through one-person one vote the diverse groups within society would be integrated into a shared identity. But the multiculturalists- Kymlicka, Parekh, Taylor, Young- argue that in well established democracies, some groups like African-American, indigenous peoples, ethnic and religious minorities and women feel marginalized and as a remedy, propose measures that the political system could mirror the distinct cultural identity of the different people. The critics of multiculturalism- Miller, Barry- argue that Liberalism accommodates cultural plurality and stresses on the need for shared identity and common public space, which multiculturalism overlooks.