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64
a project, that is largely economic, that has consequences for pluralism and toleration. Increased migrations and the spread of technology have their impact on culture. Walzer concludes his section on the postmodern model by stating that the point of toleration is “not, and never was, to abolish ‘us’ and ‘them’ (and certainly not to abolish me’) but to ensure their continuing coexistence and interaction.” (92)
In saying this, he overlooks the fact that it is precisely the “us and them” that provides the basis for intolerance. It is true that not everyone who has the nostalgia for community is necessarily fundamentalist. But it is an “us and them” attitude that makes for the strains of pluralism. In the next chapter I will argue that in the context of globalization, notions of community and culture are radically changing; at the same time, individuals are less fragmented than appears to be the case. I shall argue that increased interdependence in the economic sphere can also provide the conditions under which greater tolerance is possible. It is what individuals have in common with others that provides a basis for identity. In the present age, the choice is no longer between cultural embeddedness and fragmentation of the individual. Both trends are present but there is also a third possibility: greater interdependence and changing notions of culture that lead neither to tribalism nor to homogenization. In Chapter II, I shall present a theory of human nature hat, taken with economic integration, can provide a basis for toleration and pluralism.
Object Description
| Title | Negotiating pluralism and tribalism in liberal democratic societies |
| Author | Sadagopan, Shoba |
| Author email | sadagopa@usc.edu; shobasadagopan@gmail.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Philosophy |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-08-22 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-10-15 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Lloyd, Sharon |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Dreher, John Keating, Gregory |
| Abstract | My aim in this dissertation is to enquire whether toleration as a practice is achievable. It is prior to the question of how it can be grounded as a virtue. I argue that in liberal democratic societies where there are struggles for recognition on the part of ethnocultural groups, it is possible to negotiate pluralism and tribalism in a way that a stable pluralist society can be maintained. My core thesis rests on a theory of interdependence based both on a theory of human nature and on the material fact of globalization. Insofar as we affirm our nature as human beings engaged in productive activity with other human beings, insofar as we value a world that facilitates that activity, toleration is desirable. It is achievable because with globalization there is a tendency towards homogenization that erodes cultural differences. There is less reason for conflict because what we have in common, our interdependence, goes far deeper than culture. A further sufficient condition may be found in well thought-out policies that are executed through education and dialogue. |
| Keyword | toleration; value pluralism; liberalism; cultural homogenization; globalization; common citizenship |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1658 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Sadagopan, Shoba |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Sadagopan-2395 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume26/etd-Sadagopan-2395.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 67 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 64 a project, that is largely economic, that has consequences for pluralism and toleration. Increased migrations and the spread of technology have their impact on culture. Walzer concludes his section on the postmodern model by stating that the point of toleration is “not, and never was, to abolish ‘us’ and ‘them’ (and certainly not to abolish me’) but to ensure their continuing coexistence and interaction.” (92) In saying this, he overlooks the fact that it is precisely the “us and them” that provides the basis for intolerance. It is true that not everyone who has the nostalgia for community is necessarily fundamentalist. But it is an “us and them” attitude that makes for the strains of pluralism. In the next chapter I will argue that in the context of globalization, notions of community and culture are radically changing; at the same time, individuals are less fragmented than appears to be the case. I shall argue that increased interdependence in the economic sphere can also provide the conditions under which greater tolerance is possible. It is what individuals have in common with others that provides a basis for identity. In the present age, the choice is no longer between cultural embeddedness and fragmentation of the individual. Both trends are present but there is also a third possibility: greater interdependence and changing notions of culture that lead neither to tribalism nor to homogenization. In Chapter II, I shall present a theory of human nature hat, taken with economic integration, can provide a basis for toleration and pluralism. |
