Bhikhu Parekh's Rethinking Multiculturalism is a very rich book...One of the things which makes the book so valuable is that it is written by a political theorist who has had hands-on experience of the problems involved, and in more than one country. Its author has a lively sense of the immense range of situations, and the variety of problems, tensions and conflicts. -- Charles Taylor Times Literary Supplement Reading Parekh, one is always led to think freshly about the matter at hand and to consider questions that had not been visible before. All of these virtues are on display here, but this book goes even further. It achieves a level of theoretical coherence and a depth of insight that is rare and impressive. This is a wonderful book. It will challenge, stimulate, and enrich all those who encounter it. -- Joseph H. Carens International Migration Review Parekh offers much that is fresh and original both in his critical review of political philosophers on cultural pluralism, and in his account of culture, human value, and the meaning of justice and equality in a multicultural society...Parekh's style and tone exemplifies the dialogic attitude whose importance he also theorizes substantively in the book. -- Irish Marion Young Ethnicities Brilliantly argued, rigorous, acute in its theoretical insights and persuasive in its practical suggestions...Bhikhu Parekh has produced something very important here. Rethinking Multiculturalism is sophisticated but also accessible; it really does force the most skeptical to "rethink" a wide range of issues. -- Stephen Howe Independent [Rethinking Multiculturalism is an] ambitious, engaging, and provocative analysis of the opportunities and challenges contemporary multiculturalism presents at the outset of the 21st century...[Bhiku Parekh offers] a nuanced examination of human nature, of cultural diversity, of the essence and structure of culture, of the importance for, and nature of, cross-cultural interaction, and of the reason why cultural diversity should not merely be accepted and accommodated, but appreciated as a positive value to be cherished and fostered. To accomplish this task requires, as Parekh repeatedly reminds his readers, an open and equal dialogue between mutually respectful cultural communities and the ability of the state or polity to reconcile the demands of political unity and cultural diversity. -- Richard Connors Journal of International Migration and Integration

Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Moral Monism Greek monism Christian monism Monism of classical liberalism Locke J. S. Mill Critique of monism 2. Forms of Pluralism Vico Montesquieu Herder Misunderstanding culture 3. Contemporary Liberal Responses to Diversity Rawls Raz Kymlicka General comments 4. Conceptualizing Human Beings Human nature Basis of cultural diversity Pluralist universalism Asian values 5. Understanding Culture The nature and structure of culture The dynamics of culture Cultural community Loyalty to culture Cultural interaction Cultural diversity Evaluating cultures Respecting cultures 6. Reconstituting the Modern State The Canadian debate The Indian debate The search for new political formations 7.
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Parekh is fair, thoughtful, fastidious and inventive in his theorizing of multiculturalism, but his viewpoint is rooted in an attempt to understand and convey a non-Western outlook. While his approach is always balanced, his first impulse is to explain and, where defensible, defend viewpoints that Western liberals have traditionally found suspect. It is a strength of this work that Parekh not only develops a brilliantly conceived theory of multiculturalism, but applies that theory meaningfully to thorny policy questions. This is a truly important and original book. -- Benjamin Barber, Director, Walt Whitman Center, Rutgers This book is a lucid and luminous examination of the lives and times of liberalism in the context of multiculturalism, migration, and cultural displacement. Over the years, Bhikhu Parekh's writings have been the source of sanity and wisdom on cultural rights and community relations. This work by a fine scholar and an ardent activist teaches the hard lessons of tolerance and cultural empathy. -- Homi Bhabha, University of Chicago Parekh's book is the most comprehensive defense of a pluralist perspective on cultural diversity that has been offered so far. Parekh challenges the continuing legacy of moral monism in contemporary liberalism. He defends his own thoroughly ecumenical approach both at the level of theory and by responding to the controversies over practices like polygamy or the burning of Rushdie's Satanic Verses. Parekh's pluralism is far from a permissive attitude of anything goes. He rigorously defends the need for operative public values as well as for a radical critique of dominant cultures. The book displays all the wisdom and the fighting spirit of a man who has been at the forefront of the theoretical and political battles over multiculturalism. -- Rainer Baubock, Institute of Advanced Study, Vienna
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780674009950
Publisert
2002-10-30
Utgiver
Harvard University Press
Vekt
553 gr
Høyde
229 mm
Bredde
144 mm
Dybde
20 mm
Aldersnivå
UU, UP, P, 05, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Antall sider
400

Forfatter

Biografisk notat

Bhikhu Parekh is Professor of Political Theory at the University of Hull. He is chair of the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain.