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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):
➤ Political philosophy of multiculturalism • history from civil rights to Europe • liberalism vs cultural difference • toleration, recognition, equality • intervention debates • welfare state tensions • free speech, offence • minority obligations, law • emotions like disgustThis podcast is a series of interviews with leading thinkers about multiculturalism as a political and philosophical problem: how societies should respond to deep differences in values, customs, and identity, and what kinds of coexistence are possible within liberal democracies. Across the conversations, the show situates multiculturalism historically—linking it to mid‑20th‑century civil rights movements, its development in Canada, and later debates in Europe—while also distinguishing different models and “varieties” of multiculturalism and what they imply for liberal political theory.
A recurring theme is the tension between respecting cultural difference and maintaining shared civic norms. Episodes explore when, if ever, liberal states or citizens are justified in intervening in other people’s ways of life, and what assumptions about “culture” are at stake in these arguments. The podcast also examines the emotional and moral psychology that can shape responses to difference, including the role of disgust in judgments about out-groups.
Several discussions connect multiculturalism to core institutions and principles of modern states, such as the welfare state, free speech, and political obligation. These include questions about whether multicultural diversity undermines solidarity needed for social provision, how to weigh the value of dissenting or potentially offensive expression against concerns about offence, and whether minorities are obligated to follow laws set by majorities. The series also addresses toleration as a concept with roots in early modern debates, and the contemporary importance of recognition and respect in achieving political equality. Transcripts are provided for the interview content.