The use of differences

Abstract

The paper focuses on the dynamics of political and public discourse in liberal democ-racies about cultural heterogeneity and about how these dynamics are reflected in academic discourse. During the last third of the twentieth century, the imperative to make each national culture homogeneous lost its appeal and was replaced by a fascination with ideas of a “multicultural society.” However, the beginning of this century has been marked by disillusionment with these ideas and widespread nostalgia for a time when cultural homogeneity remained an unquestioned good. The author argues that the current explanations for this discursive shift are insufficient. He maintains instead that this shift has been brought on mostly by the dominance of neoliberalism as the regime of government. The result was that ordinary citizens began to associate the rhetoric of support for cultural differences with the insensitivity of the ruling elites to the problem of social inequality. Right-wing populists are eagerly exploiting the discontent of a broad public with “liberal elites.” In its attempt to adapt to these changed conditions, the establishment is seeking new forms of public rhetoric — using terms ranging from “muscular liberalism” and “civic integration” to “interculturalism.” Both official and academic discourse had taken a “diversity turn” by 2010. Today the category of diversity serves the same functions as multiculturalism in the 1980s and 1990s, providing both the basic trope of public rhetoric and a theoretical framework. The author finds analytical potential in that framework but calls attention to its problematic nature, which involves, among other things, valorizing difference while downgrading equality.