Mandy @ POLI 333D

The functioning of democracy largely depends on the definition of citizenship, which has become vaguer as more western democracies become inclusive of different linguistic and cultural communities.

While democracy and multiculturalism themselves are not contradictory, their relationship can be complex.  In fact, little attention has been paid to the questions of whether democracy should support institutions that define and support multicultural identities, as well as how multicultural democracies should reinforce the core values of democracy, such constitutionalism, pluralism and tolerance.

Another issue raised by multiculturalism is representation. Should we adopt group representation or mirror representation in multicultural democracies? While mirror representation is highly impractical, group representation also fails to solve the problem that every group has sub-groups, which have different characteristics and hence different interests.

I recall John Rawls’s claim that self-perception of citizenship determines one’s perceptions of social and political obligations. I agree with this statement and believe that any confusion over one’s identity and responsibility as a full citizen is detrimental to social development. Therefore, to promote harmonious cultural pluralism and diverse opinions, it is my view that inclusive democracies should encourage its citizens to pursue their identities. For the second question, I don’t have an answer yet (and I may even support substantive representation). However, I believe that the first step to a harmonious multicultural society is to affirm respectfully the different linguist and cultural heritages of citizens. If communication could lead to mutual understanding between fellow citizens, the matter of representation would not be a big issue.

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