Minorities protection, democracy and cultural pluralism
| Author | Gabriela Ratulea |
| Position | Dept. of Communication and Social Assistance, Transilvania University of Brasov |
| Pages | 42-51 |
Page 42
Two thousand years ago the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, sustained that "The purpose of the State is to be, within the possibilities, a society of equal human beings" [1]. Nowadays the cultural pluralism answers the need of different cultural components of the society to express themselves.
The "cultural pluralism" concept was born in the 60s in the US, with the purpose of making it easier to understand the diversity of todays world. This is about the existence within a state or a larger region of some minority groups that are different from the majority population by elements such language, race or religion. In the work "How to compare nations", Dogan and Pelassy analyze this phenomenon. "All analysts who have seriously studied the cultural pluralism have denounced the naivety of those who expected that the industrialization and development of communications will prevent the segmentation. In reality, the economic, social and political development usually revives the competition between rival groups that are therefore competing for new services provided by the government. The modernization brings with it an overdevelopment of the main cities, a consolidation of the political centers that control the mass-media, as a redistribution of the incomes. Such development starts the riot of suburbs - what Jean Gottmann defines as defying of the centralization. Urbanization, education and communication, far from operating a radical opening of the cultural collectivity, offer them the ability to create an elite, to develop a conscience, to transform their dialect into a real language and their legends into cultural patrimony". [2]
The authors present the content of this concept: overcoming the intercultural antagonisms, access to all forms of culture, acceptance of diversity - the basis of this concept, as a factor of individual and collective improvement, elaboration of new synthesis to overcome and eliminatePage 43all forms of conflict, including the latent ones, recognition of the creative force and the energy released by the interaction of differences without transforming them in conflicts. These principles ensure the implementation of harmonious intercultural relationships, not leading to a leveling of differences, to a suppressing or marginalization, guaranteeing, on the contrary, that they will continue to exist, but without generating conflict anymore.
For a better understanding the concept is usually associated with the field to which it refers to: cultural pluralism, ideological pluralism, political pluralism, ethnic pluralism or religious pluralism. [2]
Cultural pluralism is the dynamic by which minority groups participate fully in the dominant society, yet maintain their cultural differences. A pluralistic society is one where different groups can interact while showing a certain degree of tolerance for one another, where different cultures can coexist without major conflicts, and where minority cultures are encouraged to uphold their customs. A Jewish philosophy professor, Horace Kallen, coined the term pluralism in the early 1900s. He was proud of his country, and concerned for his beliefs and the beliefs of immigrants. He did not want to be assimilated by the majority. He felt that various distinguished cultures could offer a greater contribution to progress than a single culture could. Cultural pluralism itself can break down at the practical level. Equality among men and women is one of the great accomplishments of Western society. Western adherence to cultural pluralism, and its tolerance, will break down, for example, the mistreatment of women.
Cultural pluralism can breakdown at the philosophical level as well. In order for cultural pluralism to have any application, it must itself be a belief held by all, or one that is enforced within the society. If cultural pluralism is to be understood as a correct philosophy, then it must exist in an authoritarian manner. It is a self-defeating philosophy. Furthermore, the notion that cultural pluralism is a false concept must also be tolerated within a pluralistic society. This results in those who adhere to absolutes opposing those who disagree, and this notion again defeats the principles of cultural pluralism.
The education must make individuals aware of their own roots, so that they are able to have points of reference in order to find their place in the world, but it must also teach them the respect for other cultures.
According to the Declaration of Tolerance Principles (proclaimed and signed on 16th November 1995) the Member States of the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) reunited between the 25th of October and the 16th of November 1995 in Paris in the 28th session of the General Conference, regulated that tolerance is: "the respect, acceptance and appreciation of the wealth and diversity of our world's cultures, our ways of expressing our quality of human beings. It is encouraged by knowledge, free spirit, communication and freedom of thinking, awareness and faith. Tolerance is also the harmony in differences. It is not only an ethical obligation; it is also a political and juridical necessity. Tolerance is a virtue that makes peace possible, and which contributes to the replacement of war culture with a peace culture. Tolerance is not a concession, or condescendence or indulgence. Tolerance is especially an active attitude generated by the ascertaining of the universal rights of the human person and the fundamentalPage 44freedoms of others. Tolerance cannot be in any way invoked to justify the violation of these fundamental values. Tolerance must be performed by individuals, groups and States (art. 1 of the Declaration). Moreover, tolerance is related to the pluralism as follows: it is the responsibility that sustains the human rights, the pluralism (including the cultural pluralism), the democracy and the lawful State. It involves the rejecting of dogmatism and absolutism and confirms the norms listed in the international instruments with respect to the human rights. According to the observation of the human rights, to practice tolerance does not mean to tolerate social injustice, or to renounce to one`s own convictions, or to make concessions in this respect. It signifies the acceptance of the fact that the human beings, naturally characterized by the diversity of their physical look, their status, way of expressing, behavior and values, have the right to live in peace and to be who they are. It signifies also that nobody must impose its own opinions on another.
The issue of minorities protection, whether ethnic, religious or cultural can be analyzed starting from two different ideologies. The issue is about the identification of the relation between the "majority culture" on one side and the "culture of minorities" as a relation of possible antagonism which, under uncontrolled conditions, can lead to mutual social exclusion, and on the other side, by the need of preserving some particular cultural identities within the context of a cultural pluralism, as benefic stability factor at macro-social level. [3] At this point we may examine, as an example, the situation of Romanians in the Austro- Hungarian Empire after the dissolution of the Empire. The geographic component of most Romanians in Hungary was not a stable part of a Romanian historical province - from Transylvania or...
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