A Durkheimian critique of contemporary multiculturalism

Abstract

ABSTRACTMulticulturalism has been under scrutiny and subject to heated debates by politicians, commentators, and academics over the past two decades. Behind these debates lie concerns about the erosion of social cohesion, national security, and economic problems. This article frames and explains the debates over cultural diversity from the perspective of Durkheimian functionalism. This article presents a systematic review of Durkheim's theory and debunks (mis)interpretations that transpose his notion of division of labour to cultural diversity. It is argued that the competitive nature of the global nation-state system poses challenges for sustaining cultural diversity within national borders. After contrasting the Durkheimian functionalist perspective on multiculturalism with contemporary social justice perspectives, the article highlights and analyses the pressure point between multiculturalism within and the competitive global nation-state system without.