Culture and Equality: An Egalitarian Critique of Multiculturalism (Paperback)

There is an oddly aggressive rejection of multiculturalism per se that hides the diversity within multicultural theory, and also the commonality between certain of Barry's claims and those of certain multicultural theorists. In other words this is a polemical piece of writing. It serves as a warning against the worst potential excess of multiculturalism and offers a trenchant defence of an egalitarian liberalism. Both of these are worthy projects, and ones Barry carries of with conviction. But what gets swept aside in the process is the possibility of a more nuanced consideration of the complex array of issues currently being debated amongst multicultural theorists, and also the possibility of defending a liberal multiculturalism against other less liberal forms of multicultural theory and practice.

Barry focuses on two distinct, and distinctly worrying, new political trends. The first is that there is a new spectre now haunting Europe, 'one of strident nationalism, ethnic self-assertion and the exaltation of what divides people at the expense of what unites them.' The second is the massive expansion of material inequality and the collapse of public services. These trends find their counterpart in the 'world of ideas', where there is also a third worrying trend: with the demise of Marxism, which generated a universalist perspective that liberals had to engage with, there has been an embrace of relativism and postmodernism rather than a universalistic egalitarianism. In short, Barry presents us with three contemporary evils: identity politics, economic inequality and moral relativism. Multicultural theory, Barry argues, is dangerous and wrong precisely because it embodies and promotes these evils.

This is a polemical book, which makes it both compelling and frustrating. For example Barry tells us that: 'Much of what Tully has to say about modern constitutionalism is a travesty.' (ch1, p.17) but we do not get any indication of why this might be the case, so we are not able to evaluate the claim. We are told that John Gray offers a 'gross caricature which is not worth engaging with (fn.37); that Tariq Modood, has written 'a piece of nonsense' and so on. In other words anyone held to be in the multicultural, rather than the liberal camp, are given harsh treatment. But the polemical approach not only colours the language, it also structures the book.

Barry undermines his own case by failing to be insufficiently attuned to differences within multicultural theory. Perhaps this 'blindness' arises from something other than rhetorical style: perhaps it is symptomatic of his form of liberalism. His uniform rejection of multiculturalism, his cavalier representation of all multicultural theorists as basically the same and basically wrong, his inattention to the diversity amongst these theorists: are these not precisely the traits that lead some to label liberalism as 'difference-blind'? Maybe Barry could be more sensitive to the hybridity amongst multiculturalists than he is. I would suggest that a more dialogical approach to justice, and a more open attitude to otherness, would be beneficial to Barry's case.

Although you might not entirely agree with his conclusions, Barry offers an insightful account of the weaker points of multiculturalism. If nothing more, this book will help you stay on the ground and evaluate critically the multicultural "hype".