Cultural pluralism

Last updated November 05, 2023

Cultural pluralism is a term used when smaller groups within a larger society maintain their unique cultural identities, whereby their values and practices are accepted by the dominant culture, provided such are consistent with the laws and values of the wider society. As a sociological term, the definition and description of cultural pluralism has evolved. It has been described as not only a fact but a societal goal.^[1]

Pluralist culture

In a pluralist culture, groups not only co-exist side by side but also consider qualities of other groups as traits worth having in the dominant culture. Pluralistic societies place strong expectations of integration on members, rather than expectations of assimilation. The existence of such institutions and practices is possible if the cultural communities are accepted by the larger society in a pluralist culture and sometimes require the protection of the law. Often, the acceptance of a culture may require that the new or minority culture remove some aspects of their culture which is incompatible with the laws or values of the dominant culture. The pluralist Hamed Kazemzadeh argues that the concept of pluralist culture has been prevalent since ancient times; for example, the Achaemenid Empire, which was founded by Cyrus the Great, successfully followed a policy of incorporating and tolerating various cultures.^[2]

Distinction from multiculturalism

Cultural pluralism is distinct from multiculturalism, which lacks the requirement of a dominant culture. If the dominant culture is weakened, societies can easily pass from cultural pluralism into multiculturalism without any intentional steps being taken by that society. If communities function separately from each other, or compete with one another, they are not considered culturally pluralistic.^[3]

In 1971, the Canadian government referred to cultural pluralism, as opposed to multiculturalism, as the "very essence" of the nation's identity.^[4] Cultural pluralism can be practiced at varying degrees by a group or an individual.^[5] A prominent example of pluralism is the United States, in which a dominant culture with strong elements of nationalism, a sporting culture, and an artistic culture contained also smaller groups with their own ethnic, religious, and cultural norms.^{[ citation needed ]}

History

The notion of cultural pluralism in the United States has its roots in the transcendentalist movement, and was developed by pragmatist philosophers such as Horace Kallen, William James, and John Dewey. Randolph Bourne, a later theorist, provided one of the most famous articulations of cultural pluralism through his 1916 essay, "Trans-National America".^{[ citation needed ]}

Kallen is widely credited as being the originator of the concept of cultural pluralism.^[6]^[7]^[8] His 1915 essay in The Nation , titled "Democracy versus the Melting Pot", was written as an argument against the concept of the 'Americanization' of European immigrants.^[9] He coined the term cultural pluralism, itself, in 1924 through his Culture and Democracy in the United States.^[10]

In 1976, the concept was further explored by Merwin Crawford Young in The Politics of Cultural Pluralism. Young's work, in African studies, emphasizes the flexibility of the definition of cultural pluralism within a society.^[11] More recent advocates include moral and cultural anthropologist Richard Shweder.

A 1976 article in the Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare offered a redefinition of cultural pluralism, described as a social condition in which communities of different cultures live together and function in an open system.^[3]

Related Research Articles

The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchangeably, and for cultural pluralism in which various ethnic and cultural groups exist in a single society. It can describe a mixed ethnic community area where multiple cultural traditions exist or a single country within which they do. Groups associated with an indigenous, aboriginal or autochthonous ethnic group and settler-descended ethnic groups are often the focus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melting pot</span> Monocultural metaphor

A melting pot is a monocultural metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative being a homogeneous society becoming more heterogeneous through the influx of foreign elements with different cultural backgrounds, possessing the potential to create disharmony within the previous culture. It can also create a harmonious hybridized society known as cultural amalgamation. Historically, it is often used to describe the cultural integration of immigrants to the United States. A related concept has been defined as "cultural additivity."

Pluralism as a political philosophy is the recognition and affirmation of diversity within a political body, which is seen to permit the peaceful coexistence of different interests, convictions, and lifestyles. While not all political pluralists advocate for a pluralist democracy, this is the most common stance, because democracy is often viewed as the most fair and effective way to moderate between discrete values. Political theorist Isaiah Berlin, a strong supporter of pluralism, wrote: "let us have the courage of our admitted ignorance, of our doubts and uncertainties. At least we can try to discover what others ... require, by ... making it possible for ourselves to know men as they truly are, by listening to them carefully and sympathetically, and understanding them and their lives and their needs... ." Pluralism thus tries to encourage members of society to accommodate their differences by avoiding extremism and engaging in good faith dialogue. Pluralists also seek the construction or reform of social institutions in order to reflect and balance competing principles.

Political sociology is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with exploring how governance and society interact and influence one another at the micro to macro levels of analysis. Interested in the social causes and consequences of how power is distributed and changes throughout and amongst societies, political sociology's focus ranges across individual families to the state as sites of social and political conflict and power contestation.

Nathan Glazer was an American sociologist who taught at the University of California, Berkeley, and for several decades at Harvard University. He was a co-editor of the now-defunct policy journal The Public Interest.

Cultural conservatism is described as the protection of the cultural heritage of a nation state, or of a culture not defined by state boundaries. It is usually associated with criticism of multiculturalism, anti-immigration sentiment, and opposition to illegal immigration. Because their monocultural ideologies are in conflict with those of anti-racism, cultural conservatives are often accused of racism. Cultural conservatism is sometimes focused upon threatened language revitalization, such as of the Distinctive local dialect of French in Quebec, Acadian French, Canadian Gaelic, and the Mi'kmaq language in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, or the Irish language in Newfoundland. Other times cultural conservatism is more focused upon the preservation of an ethnic minority's endangered culture, such as those of Native Americans.

This is an index of sociology articles. For a shorter list, see List of basic sociology topics.

"Cultural mosaic" is the mix of ethnic groups, languages, and cultures that coexist within society. The idea of a cultural mosaic is intended to suggest a form of multiculturalism, different from other systems such as the melting pot, which is often used to describe nations like the United States' assimilation.

In ethics, value pluralism is the idea that there are several values which may be equally correct and fundamental, and yet in conflict with each other. In addition, value-pluralism postulates that in many cases, such incompatible values may be incommensurable, in the sense that there is no objective ordering of them in terms of importance. Value pluralism is opposed to value monism.

Agonism is a political and social theory that emphasizes the potentially positive aspects of certain forms of conflict. It accepts a permanent place for such conflict in the political sphere, but seeks to show how individuals might accept and channel this conflict positively. Agonists are especially concerned with debates about democracy, and the role that conflict plays in different conceptions of it. The agonistic tradition to democracy is often referred to as agonistic pluralism. A related political concept is that of countervailing power. Beyond the realm of the political, agonistic frameworks have similarly been utilized in broader cultural critiques of hegemony and domination, as well as in literary and science fiction.

The sociology of law, legal sociology, or law and society is often described as a sub-discipline of sociology or an interdisciplinary approach within legal studies. Some see sociology of law as belonging "necessarily" to the field of sociology, but others tend to consider it a field of research caught up between the disciplines of law and sociology. Still others regard it as neither a subdiscipline of sociology nor a branch of legal studies but as a field of research on its own right within the broader social science tradition. Accordingly, it may be described without reference to mainstream sociology as "the systematic, theoretically grounded, empirical study of law as a set of social practices or as an aspect or field of social experience". It has been seen as treating law and justice as fundamental institutions of the basic structure of society mediating "between political and economic interests, between culture and the normative order of society, establishing and maintaining interdependence, and constituting themselves as sources of consensus, coercion and social control".

Pluralism in general denotes a diversity of views or stands, rather than a single approach or method.

Legal pluralism is the existence of multiple legal systems within one society and/or geographical area. Plural legal systems are particularly prevalent in former colonies, where the law of a former colonial authority may exist alongside more traditional legal systems. In postcolonial societies a recognition of pluralism may be viewed as a roadblock to nation-building and development. Anthropologists view legal pluralism in the light of historical struggles over sovereignty, nationhood and legitimacy.

Classical pluralism is the view that politics and decision-making are located mostly in the framework of government but that many non-governmental groups use their resources to exert influence. The central question for classical pluralism is how power and influence are distributed in a political process. Groups of individuals try to maximize their interests. Lines of conflict are multiple and shifting as power is a continuous bargaining process between competing groups. There may be inequalities but they tend to be distributed and evened out by the various forms and distributions of resources throughout a population. Any change under this view will be slow and incremental, as groups have different interests and may act as "veto groups" to destroy legislation. The existence of diverse and competing interests is the basis for a democratic equilibrium, and is crucial for the obtaining of goals by individuals.

A pluralist democracy describes a political system where there is more than one center of power. Modern democracies are by definition pluralist as they allow freedom of association; however, pluralism may exist without democracy. In a pluralist democracy, individuals achieve positions of formal political authority by forming successful electoral coalitions. Such coalitions are formed through a process of bargaining among political leaders and subleaders of the various organizations within the community. It is necessary to form electoral coalitions; this gives the organizational leaders the ability to present demands and articulate the viewpoints of their membership. Hamed Kazemzadeh, a pluralist from Canada, believes that pluralist democracy means a multitude of groups, not the people as a whole, can govern, direct, and manage societies as an ethic of respect for diversity.

The interactive acculturation model (IAM) seeks to integrate within a common theoretical framework the following components of immigrants and host community relations in multicultural settings:

acculturation orientations adopted by immigrant groups in the host community;
acculturation orientations adopted by the host community towards special groups of immigrants;
interpersonal and intergroup relational outcomes that are the product of combinations of immigrant and host community acculturation orientations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multiculturalism in Canada</span> Canadian social situation

Multiculturalism in Canada was officially adopted by the government during the 1970s and 1980s. The Canadian federal government has been described as the instigator of multiculturalism as an ideology because of its public emphasis on the social importance of immigration. The 1960s Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism is often referred to as the origin of modern political awareness of multiculturalism, resulting in Canada being one of the most multicultural nations in the world. The official state policy of multiculturalism is often cited as one of Canada's significant accomplishments, and a key distinguishing element of Canadian identity and Canadian values.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polyethnicity</span> Presence of multiple ethnicities in a society or an identification with multiple ethnicities

Polyethnicity, also known as pluri-ethnicity or multi-ethnicity, refers to specific cultural phenomena that are characterized by social proximity and mutual interaction of people from different ethnic backgrounds, within a country or other specific geographic region.

Horace Meyer Kallen was a German-born American philosopher who supported pluralism and Zionism.

Cultural amalgamation refers to the process of mixing two cultures to create a new culture. It is often described as a more balanced type of cultural interaction than the process of cultural assimilation. Cultural amalgamation does not involve one group's culture changing another group's culture (acculturation) or one group adopting another group's culture (assimilation). Instead, a new culture results. This is the origin of cultural amalgamation. It is the equivalent to the melting pot theory.

References

↑ Hazard, William R.; Stent, Madelon (1973). "Cultural Pluralism and Schooling: Some Preliminary Observations". Cultural Pluralism in Education: A Mandate for Change. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. p. 13.
↑ Kazemzadeh, Hamed (January 2018). "Hamed Kazemzadeh: Pluralism in Ideological Peacebuilding". Internal Journal of Acpcs.
1 2 Pantoja, Antonia, Wilhelmina Perry, and Barbara Blourock. 1976. "Towards the Development of Theory: Cultural Pluralism Redefined." The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare 4(1):11. ISSN 0191-5096.
↑ House of Commons. 8 October 1971. Debates, 28th Parliament, 3rd Session, Volume 8. Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. via " Canadian Multicultural Policy 1971." Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 .
↑ Haug, Marie R. 1967. "Social and Cultural Pluralism as a Concept in Social System Analysis." American Journal of Sociology 73(3):294–304. JSTOR 2776029.
↑ Toll, William. 1997. "Horace M. Kallen: Pluralism and American Jewish Identity." American Jewish History 85(1):57–74. doi : 10.1353/ajh.1997.0007. Project MUSE 422. Excerpt.
↑ Konvitz, Milton Ridvas, ed. 1987. The Legacy of Horace M. Kallen. Associated University Presses. ISBN 0-8386-3291-2.
↑ Sanday, Peggy R. 1976. Anthropology and the Public Interest. New York: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-617650-7.
↑ Kallen, Horace. 18–25 February 1915. "Democracy Versus the Melting Pot." The Nation 100(2590):190–94, 217–20.
↑ Kallen, Horace. 1924. Culture and Democracy in the United States. New York: Boni & Liveright. pp. 126–29.
↑ Young, Merwin Crawford. 1976. The Politics of Cultural Pluralism. University of Wisconsin Press.

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