The traditions of Multiculturalism
Each tradition answers the same spec questions differently. Learn the split and you can compare them in an essay.
Liberal Multiculturalism
Kymlicka (group-differentiated rights, culture as context of choice)
- Autonomous rational individual; culture is the 'context of choice' that enables autonomy
Pluralist Multiculturalism
Parekh (humans culturally embedded, opposes liberal universalism); Berlin (value pluralism); Taylor (politics of recognition); Modood (multicultural integration)
- Humans culturally embedded; identity bound up in culture; value pluralism; humans don't exist before or outside society
Cosmopolitan Multiculturalism
No named 9PL0 spec thinker; position described in MS as supporting hybridity and global community
- Identity is fluid and hybridised; humans as global citizens; cultures mix and recombine
Side by side
The four core spec areas across every tradition.
| Theme | Liberal | Pluralist | Cosmopolitan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human Nature | Autonomous rational individual; culture is the 'context of choice' that enables autonomy | Humans culturally embedded; identity bound up in culture; value pluralism; humans don't exist before or outside society | Identity is fluid and hybridised; humans as global citizens; cultures mix and recombine |
| The State | Group-differentiated rights within a liberal framework; outlaw discrimination; reject illiberal practices | Active state promotion of diversity; reimagine state functions through multiculturalism; rewrite the national story | State should support hybridisation and global citizenship; international cooperation; blurred national / global identity |
| The Economy | Equal economic access; anti-discrimination law; minority economic justice within liberal framework | Tackle economic and social inequality between cultural groups; substantive multiculturalism; redress historical inequalities | Support for global economic integration; cultural mixing in commerce; less attached to nationally-bounded economic policy |
| Society | Shallow diversity; politics of recognition bounded by liberal democratic values; integration is the goal | Deep diversity; all cultures have some worth; cross-cultural dialogue; politics of recognition is foundational | Pick-and-mix culture; cultural differences dissolve into one global community; hybridisation rather than preservation |