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Multiculturalism is one of the most vexing political issues of our day. How can people with very different values and customs live alongside each other? What is the history of multiculturalism? What are the arguments for and against its various forms? Has it failed? Does it have a future? The Open University's Nigel Warburton interviews ten leading thinkers about the meaning and implications of multiculturalism. David Edmonds introduces each episode.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Multiculturalism history and debates • liberalism and cultural difference • toleration and recognition • intervention and political obligation • welfare state compatibility • free speech and offence • moral psychology of disgustThis podcast is a series of interviews with leading thinkers that examines multiculturalism as a political and philosophical problem: how societies should respond when groups with different values, customs, and identities live together under shared institutions and laws. Across the conversations, the show situates multiculturalism historically, tracing how the idea developed from mid‑20th‑century civil rights struggles, through policy and political debates in countries such as Canada, and into contemporary European contexts.
A recurring theme is the relationship between multiculturalism and liberal political principles. The discussions explore different “varieties” of multiculturalism and what a consistently liberal approach might require, including how far individual freedom, group autonomy, and state neutrality can extend when cultural practices conflict with widely held moral or legal standards. Related to this is the question of intervention: when, if ever, a liberal society is justified in interfering in people’s ways of living, and what criteria might make intervention legitimate.
The podcast also investigates the social and psychological dynamics that shape attitudes toward cultural difference. It considers how emotions such as disgust can influence moral judgement and contribute to stigmatization or exclusion. Several episodes focus on key public values and institutions implicated in multicultural debates, including freedom of speech and the management of offence, the role of dissent and potentially offensive expression in democratic life, and how multicultural diversity is sometimes seen as challenging the solidarity and trust associated with welfare-state arrangements.
Political obligation and legitimacy are another through-line, addressing whether and why minority groups should regard majority-made laws as binding. The series also revisits classic ideas of toleration, connecting contemporary disputes to earlier philosophical debates, and examines concepts of recognition and respect as components of political equality. Alongside these topics, the podcast questions assumptions about what “culture” is and how it functions in political arguments, emphasizing the complexity of balancing equality, liberty, and pluralism in diverse societies.