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The Claims of Culture: Equality and Diversity in the Global Era
 
 
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The Claims of Culture: Equality and Diversity in the Global Era [Paperback]

Seyla Benhabib (Author)
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Seyla Benhabib
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Review

"Seyla Benhabib's book presents a subtly defined, vigorously argued universalist position in democratic theory, one that nevertheless accommodates (and essentially integrates) varieties of multiculturalism. It is especially notable for going beyond the trite oppositions between the politics of cultural identity and the theory of deliberative democracy." - Amelie Rorty, Brandeis University; "Reading this book was a deeply satisfying experience. Benhabib's model of democracy is firmly rooted in a systematic and well-developed moral theory, and her policy recommendations are informed both by extensive philosophical reflection and by her uncompromising commitment to individual identity." - Alison Jaggar, University of Colorado

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How can liberal democracy best be realized in a world fraught with conflicting new forms of identity politics and intensifying conflicts over culture? This book brings unparalleled clarity to the contemporary debate over this question. Maintaining that cultures are themselves torn by conflicts about their own boundaries, Seyla Benhabib challenges the assumption shared by many theorists and activists that cultures are clearly defined wholes. She argues that much debate--including that of "strong" multiculturalism, which sees cultures as distinct pieces of a mosaic--is dominated by this faulty belief, one with grave consequences for how we think injustices among groups should be redressed and human diversity achieved. Benhabib masterfully presents an alternative approach, developing an understanding of cultures as continually creating, re-creating, and renegotiating the imagined boundaries between "us" and "them."

Drawing on contemporary cultural politics from Western Europe, Canada, and the United States, Benhabib develops a double-track model of deliberative democracy that permits maximum cultural contestation within the official public sphere as well as in and through social movements and the institutions of civil society. Agreeing with political liberals that constitutional and legal universalism should be preserved at the level of polity, she nonetheless contends that such a model is necessary to resolve multicultural conflicts.

Analyzing in detail the transformation of citizenship practices in European Union countries, Benhabib concludes that flexible citizenship, certain kinds of legal pluralism and models of institutional powersharing are quite compatible with deliberative democracy, as long as they are in accord with egalitarian reciprocity, voluntary self-ascription, and freedom of exit and association. The Claims of Culture offers invaluable insight to all those, whether students or scholars, lawyers or policymakers, who strive to bridge the gap between the theory and practice of cultural politics in the twenty-first century.

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Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
The emergence of culture as an arena of intense political controversy is one of the most puzzling aspects of our current condition. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Amazon.com:  3 reviews
13 of 19 people found the following review helpful
A Must-Read 17 Nov 2003
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Seyla Benhabib's important new book "The Claims of Culture" addresses a constellation of issues with which our contemporary liberal democratic society must deal in an age of cultural diversity both within the political boundaries the nation-state and at the global level. As Benhabib makes very clear, in this context we face a dual imperative of remaining sensitive to the plurality of the ways people both near and far choose how to live, while simultaneously seeking out a mode of reflexive ethical universalism that can provide foundations for normatively addressing crises with world-reach. We must also look askance at approaches to cultural diversity, which reify boundaries and in turn fail to take account of the fluid process of renegotiation and recreation constitutive of the contemporary practices of social and political self-definition.
The book is gracefully and limpidly written. Benhabib's has a masterful grasp of the multiple literatures involved in her undertaking and is a virtuoso of conveying their multiform ideas both incisively and reliably. This work is a must read for anyone interested cultural studies or political theory or their often-ignored yet undoubtedly intimate relationship.
15 of 44 people found the following review helpful
Unreadable and Laborious 16 Oct 2003
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Quite simply, this is one of the most poorly written books I've ever seen. Benhabib's basic points are lost in a jungle of jargon that appears to be written only for herself or for a very tight circle of over-specialized academics who share the same unintelligible language. Tragically, Benhabib's points about the evolutionary nature of culture and its fit within democratic societies are valid, interesting, and worthy of contemplation, but her writing prevents most people from ever grasping them. Simply put, don't buy this book. If it is required for a course, as it was for me, tell your professor to pick something else.
4 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Worst Book Ever Written 28 May 2009
By Rtarara - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This book is absolute torture. The author uses complicated prose to disguise the fact that her assumptions are invalid, her logic is poor, and that the entire book can be summarized in a page or two and lose nothing. The difficult language would be acceptable it added any sort of additional clarity over using simpler terms. It does not. It only serves to make the casual reader think Benhabib is saying something smart. She is not. Read anything else. I am actually considering burning my copy to prevent anyone else from ever accidentally picking it up and being subjected to it. I have never found a book that inspired this sort of loathing and I am a voracious reader. DO NOT BUY THIS!

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