Multiculturalisme libéral et monoculturalisme pluriel

Abstract

Multiculturalism, in its liberal version, promotes a recognition policy involving freedom of choice and freedom of autonomy. This involvement imposes precisely to acknowledge, to a certain extent, the feeling of belonging to a certain culture. On these grounds, three justifications of the acknowledgement of differentiated rights according to the national group one belongs to can be found : 1) Equality : the minority group is submitted to an injustice that can and should be corrected ; 2) Historical justification : what the minority group claims is based on previous agreements (such as treaties between colonizers and aboriginal peoples) ; 3) The intrinsic value of cultural diversity. This paper proposes to examine the first type of justifications concerning the fondamental level of principles, through the analysis of the double challenge faced by multiculturalism : be "hospitable towards difference" while insuring the general social cohesion and justice. © 2009 Presses de Sciences Po.